The Era of Blair Waldorf
by Janice93
Summary: "Blair Waldorf may not be a lot of things, but being a queen is in her blood. It's her destiny." Blair, Serena, Chuck and Nate are in their freshman year. See how Chuck gain his notorious reputation or how Blair climbs her way up the social ladder.
1. First Day

Summary: "Blair Waldorf may not be a lot of things, but being a queen is in her blood. It's her destiny." Blair, Serena, Chuck and Nate are in their freshman year. See how Chuck gain his notorious reputation or how Blair climbs her way up the social ladder.

A/N: -Chuck did not make an appearance in this chapter, but I assure you he will in the next chapter.

-Dan will not appear as much compared to the other characters as according to the TV series, Dan did not make much of an impression on others until Junior year.

-This story is actually a continuation of my previous chapter Before it all begins. It is not essential to read Before it all begins to understand this story though.

Enjoy. :)

* * *

Blair fiddled with her dark brown locks. She had to look perfect. Today is essential to her new life at Constance Billard. Today is her first day in Constance Billard, and even though she was just a freshman, she's determined to make history. She will be,_must be,_ queen in due time. And in order for her to be queen, she needs to look like one. She eyed her twin in the mirror. She was already dressed in her uniform and a pair of white stockings. Everything is perfectly ironed out, thanks to Dorota. She had on a pair of black Chanel heels and on her head, was a red colour headband. Headbands were her signature accessory, and she will make sure that the girls at Constance Billiard know that. Her dark brown curls laid perfectly on her shoulders. She looked good. At least, she thought so.

Blair then walked over to her bed when multiple files laid on it in a neat pile. She picked up the first in pile and flipped through. Of course she had already memorised the information by now, but she wanted to make sure.

'B!' Serena pratically shouted when she skipped- yes, skipped- into the room.

"Isn't this a bit early for you to be so hyper?" Blair closed the file she was reading and looked up.

" What are you reading?" After years of being best friends with Blair, Serena knew better than to retort. It will be best to ignore her sacarism. "Don't tell me you are studying already." Serena teased, sitting down beside Blair.

"These," Blair gestured to the files in the neat pile with her hand, "are my one-way ticket to the Elite." Blair grinned.

"The Elite?" Serena questioned, eyeing the pile suspiciously.

"You see, these are the information of those in the Elite, the mean girls, people who are 'In', or whatever you call it. I preferred calling it the Elite though." Blair shrugged.

"What do you need these for?" Serena began to pick up random files and flipped through it.

"Well, don't they always say to know your enemies better than yourself? Look, Serena." Blair said, gesturing to the file in her hand.

Serena looked up.

"This," Blair referred to the photo attached, "is Amber. She's the current queen of Constance Billiard." She then referred to the remaining files in the pile. "And these are her minions."

"Minions? Can't you use you a better word? 'Minions' sounds.."

"Minions," Blair interuppted. " Are minions." Blair gave her a hard look. "Amber is in her senior year and before she graduates, she's going to pass her crown to someone whom she thinks is qualified enough to be queen. And of course, I'm more than qualified." Blair smiled confidently. She may not be a lot of things, but being a queen pratically runs in her blood. It's her _destiny._

_"_But B, we are just freshman this year. Never in the history did a somphore lead the school."

"Well, I'm not just a 'somebody' right? I'm Blair Waldorf. And what a Waldof wants, she gets."

Serena shrugged. That's true though. Blair always get what she wanted. If she can't get it, she manipulates her way into it.

"Enough of these chit-chatting. Let's go have our breakfast. We don't want to be late for school on our first day, right?" Blair suggested with a smile.

"Of course not." Serena replied, returning the smile.

* * *

Blair was 'briefing' on Serena about the Elite while they were on their way to school.

"Like what I said before, Amber is the queen and following, are Veronica, Eunice, Penny, and last in rank is Michelle. Amber is the redhead, that's how she got her name by the way, because of her bright red hair, Veronica and Penny are the brunettes and Eunice and Michelle are the blond. So, in order to be queen, I need to win her minions over to my side. I need more information about Amber. And of course, her minions will know best." Blair smirked.

"Wait, how do you know all these again? Are they all in the files?"

"Well, I do my research very thoroughly." Blair replied, her smirk wider.

"I don't care what you do, Blair. I don't want to be involved in any of these." Serena said, putting her hands up, as if in surrender.

"As you wish, S. You will just miss out all the fun."

Finally, in front of them now is Constance Billard.

"Ready for our great entrance?" Blair asked, excitement was written all over her face.

Serena just laughed lightly and hooked her arm around Blair's. Blair inhaled deeply and took the first step. They walked through the crowd as if they owned the place, barely giving as much as a side glance to the people who stared with their jaws opened. The crowd began to mumble and whisper. Blair and Serena strutted with their heads up until they reached the hall where assembly was held, and took their seats in the front row. Since Constance Billard and St. Judes are brother/sister schools, they shared the same hall for assmebly. Students of Constance Billard were to sit on the left side of the hall and students of St. Judes were to sit on the right side of the hall. Blair and Serena were laughing about the commontion they had created when Blair's blackberry vibrated. There was a new message.

_8 o'clock direction. -N _

Blair turned her head in the given direction. There it was, her knight in silver amour, Nate Archibald, sitting in the back row of the side of the hall. He winked. Blair winked back. She replied.

_Gd luck 4 the first day of school. Try 2 stay out of trouble. Well, at least for 2day. ;) -B_

The hall began to fill up and soon, the assembly began.

"Good morning to all of you, ladies and gentlemen. I am your Headmistress Blakeman. On behalf of our staff, I welcome you to Constance Billiard and St. Judes."

The rest of the speech was so boring that Blair tuned it out. She was examining her nails when something interesting caught her attention.

"... pass over to Amber Carmichael to brief you on the rules and regulations in Constance Billiard and St. Judes. Amber, please."

It was the name 'Amber' that caught Blair's attention and she looked up.

There it was, Amber in the Constance Billiards uniform. It was only when Amber stepped up onto the podium did Blair notice. On Amber, was the exact black Chanel heels that Blair had on. Blair gasped. It was like hollywood stars getting caught wearing the same dress on the red carpet. Blair can already see it in her head. "Who wears it better? - Amber (A) or Blair (B) ? "

"Blair.. It's that your.." Serena whispered.

"Yes. Shut up." Blair snapped.

"Good morning. I am Amber Carmichael, currently a senior in Constance Billiard. Today, I shall brief you on the rules and regulations of ..."

Blair did not hear the rest of the speech. In her head, all she could think about is the fact that she and Amber were wearing the same pair of shoes. Now, Amber and her minions will think that she is a copycat with no unique style. She's doomed. Her journey to queen ended before it even started.

Finally, the assembly ended and they were told to go their first period classes.

"I told you, Serena. I'm doomed. They won't accept a queen with no unique style. It's over." Blair whined. Being the drama queen, she was exaggerating as usual.

"Blair, I think you are exaggerating.."

Serena then saw Nate coming up behind Blair.

"I will just leave you two alone.." Serena muttured under her breathe and walked away, giving them some privacy.

* * *

Dan Humphey was shocked, surprised, aghast, amazed, all at the same time to see Serena Van Der Woodsen again. For a second, he thought he was dreaming, like what he did many a night after he saw Serena at the black-and-white ball. But this time, it's true. There it is, Serena Van Der Woodsen walking into the very same hall as him with a petite brunette next to her. Not that he notice much about the brunette though. His gaze is fixed on Serena. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

So when Serena and the brunette walked out of the hall, he followed. He wanted to talk to her, but didn't know what to say. Did she remember him? He doubt so. But still, he can go up to her and introduce himself. He can do that right? After all, he's in St. Judes, the brother school of Constance. When Serena walked away from the brunette, he knew that was his chance. It's now or never. Taking a deep breathe, he walked up to her.

* * *

"Blair." Nate sneaked an arm around her waist.

Nate's touch was supposed to be comforting. It was supposed to take her mind off things. Things like how her life was over.

"Not now, Nate." She struggled out of Nate's reach and walked over to Serena.

"Serena, the ladies. Now." Blair pulled at Serena's arm and began to head over to the girls' bathroom. Leaving a certain Brooklyn guy in their dusts.

* * *

"I need to think of something. Fast." Blair was pacing up and down in the bathroom for the hundredth time. She needed to think of something to get her plans on the right track again. But what?

"Blair, can you stop? Just sit down." Serena sighed.

"How can I sit down when my life is falling apart?" Blair yelled. Well, at least she did stop in her tracks to yell at her.

"Blair, it's not.." Serena was interuppted by the creak of the door.

Amber and her minions walked in. They were checking their reflections in the mirror, freshening their make-up while Blair and Serena exchanged looks. It was then, did Amber noticed the presence of two freshmans. Amber eyed Serena from head to toe, and did the same to Blair. Blair froze. "Shit. She's going to notice the shoes." Blair thought.

Indeed, Amber's gaze lingered a moment longer than usual for Blair's shoes.

"Nice shoes you got there. You got great taste." Serena broke the silence.

While Blair was glad that the awful silence was finally broken, she was not sure what tricks Serena was playing.

"Thank you. I see that your friend got great taste too." Amber gave a small smile.

Blair heaved a sigh of relief. Ok, at least she was not mean and bitchy about it. Blair would totally be both if the roles were reveresed.

"Serena Van Der Woodsen." Serena introduced, holding out her hand.

Amber hesitated for a moment, but took it in the end. They shook hands.

"Amber Carmichael." Amber said blantantly.

"And this," Serena pulled Blair in front of her, "is my friend Blair Waldorf."

Blair stayed still, not knowing what to do. Serena nudged her.

"Nice to meet you." Blair smiled nervously and held out her hand.

Amber took it and shaked.

"Nice to meet you too."

"Did I mention that Blair's mother is a designer? That would explains why she has such good taste. It's in her blood." Serena gushed with exicitement.

"Really? Does she have her own line?" Amber asked, but her tone shows no interest.

"Yes, of course. She started Waldorf Designs." Blair answered, tucking her hair behind her ears. It's what she did whenever she was nervous.

"Waldorf Designs? As in Eleanor Waldorf? I love her! I have her entire autumn collection!" Michelle, as Blair recongnised from her file, shrieked in excitement.

"Mich." Amber said, giving her a warning.

Michelle immediately became silent.

"Well, it was nice meeting you. But we need to get to our classes." Amber said, turning on her heels, preparing to leave. Her minions followed.

Just as Blair thought that their first encounter was not as bad as she had imagined, Amber turned around.

"Oh, and Blair? Lunch at the courtyard. Serena can come too." Amber gave a small smile and walked out of the door.

Michelle, being the last in rank was walking behind the others in her group. She mouthed " LOVE YOUR MUM" to Blair before hurrying to catch up with the others.

Blair grinned. Things were going better than she thought. It was only the first day of school and she practically already score an invite to the Elite.

* * *

Reviews are a great motivation. Tell me what you think. :)


	2. Ticket to the Elite

A/N: As promised, Chuck Bass made his appearance in here. Expect lots of Chuck in the future chapters. Chuck wouldn't want to be out of Blair's schemes. ;)

**Chapter 2: Ticket to the Elite**

"Blair!" Nate shouted. But Blair did not turn, nor did she stop. Nate watched Blair pull Serena into the girls' bathroom and sighed. He will never understand girls. One minute ago they were flirting with each other across the hall and then it was 'Not now Nate'.

"Thinking of sneaking in there, Nathaniel? I'd tried that three years ago."

Nate jumped a little. His best friend definitely have a gift for sneaking around. He certainly did not hear Chuck coming up behind him.

"Hey. Where are you just now? I didn't see you. You missed the assembly man." Nate said, turning to face Chuck.

"All those talks bore me. I had better things to do. So, Nathaniel. What are you looking at just now?" Chuck jerked his head in the direction of the girls' bathroom.

"Nothing." Nate shrugged. "It's just Blair being weird. She pulled Serena into the girls' bathroom and refused to talk to me. Whatever. You have first period French right?"

Blair being weird? Clearly Nate's understanding of Blair did not deepen over the summer. One would have thought that all the time they spend together would account for something. Who was he kidding? Nathaniel could spend ten years alone with Blair and still don't know her. It was the first day of school and Chuck knew that Blair must be all nervous and jittery. She's always so uptight and such a perfectionist, she would bend herself over trying to have the perfect first day. That's why he's here this early in the morning (Well, it's early for him). He's not here for school;He didn't care about school. He's Chuck Bass. The school can't kick him out even if he treated the school like his personal playground. But he wanted to be here to see how Blair was doing. Blair would probably do fine, but he wanted to make sure.

"Yeah, but you go first. I got something to do."

"Ok, catch you later mate." Nate waved and went down the long hallway.

* * *

"Did you hear that, S? She invited me - I mean, us- to lunch!" Blair was pulling on Serena's arm and jumping up and down in excitement.

"Yes, I was there, remember? I'm happy for you, B. I really am, but you need to calm down." Serena laughed. Blair was behaving like a child who had just gotten her first barbie doll.

"Ok, ok. You are right." Blair said. She pat down the front of her shirt and placed her dark brown locks neatly on her shoulders. "How do I look?"

Pretending to be an inspector, Serena walked around Blair. She eyed the petitie brunette from head to toe, and toe to head. Serena's perfectly plucked eyebrows were knitted together. She frowned.

Blair frozed. Did she not look good enough? But she had spent days preparing her wardrobe for today!

Serena's eyes returned to Blair's.

"Perfect!" Serena exclaimed.

Blair laughed and smacked Serena's arm lightly.

"For a moment you scared me!"

Serena joined in the laughter.

"I'm going to be late for first period. Do you want to go already?" Serena asked.

"You go ahead. I want to touch on my make-up. I got people to impress." Blair gave a knowing smirk.

"Ok. See you later at lunch." Serena said with a smile.

Blair gave a small wave and returned her attention to her reflection in the mirror. She immediately spotted areas that needed attention. She opened her clutch, dug around for the necessary tools and began to fix her face. How she envy Serena sometimes. Serena didn't need to make the effort to look good. She did. For Serena, it was just some mascara and lip gloss and she's good to go. For her, it was always practically everything you can find in the store. Blair gave a small sigh and gave her lips another layer of lip gloss. Returning everything back to its original place in the clutch, she closed it and exited the girls' bathroom.

Blair was just turning around the corner when someone suddenly stepped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Chuck! You scared me!" Blair placed a hand over her heart to make sure that it's still beating.

"You cut your hair" Was his first remark. The last time Chuck saw Blair was three weeks ago, before Chuck suddenly left for Europe without any explanation to anyone. Even Nate, his best friend, couldn't contact him. And then, just as sudden as he disappeared, he reappeared right in front of her again. Well, that's Chuck Bass for you.

"Yeah. New school, new hairstyle." Blair had long wavy hair throughout her entire life. But a few weeks ago she had decided to try a different look. So she chopped off her long hair. Now it was only long enough to pass her shoulders.

Chuck lifted his hand and picked up a lock of Blair's chocolate hair from her shoulder. "I like it better when it's longer." He said softly.

Technically, he wasn't even touching her, yet the action felt.. Intimate. And what's up with Chuck Bass's choice of tone? It made Blair's heart beat quicken. And in a way different from just now when she got scared. Blair decided to masked her discomfort with bitchiness. Blair slapped Chuck's hand away.

"Hands off, Bass." She snapped.

"Why so serious, Waldorf?"Chuck smirked.

Blair gave Chuck a deadly glare, turned on her heels and walked away. Chuck followed.

"So, how's the Queen Bee project?" Chuck asked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but it's going rather well." A proud smile hung on Blair's face.

"How is it none of my buisness? I'm your scheming partner, remember? Always have been, always will be." Chuck said, the smirk still hanging on his face.

Blair thought about It for a while. True, she could use Chuck's help. Serena already said she doesn't want to be involve, and Nate's of no help.

"That may be true." Blair said with a small nod.

Blair stopped in front of a classroom and Chuck followed suit.

"I will count you in then. You know that it's your pleasure to be involved in this historical moment, right?" Blair asked, raising her right eyebrow as if challenging him to disagree with her.

"I know, your majesty." Chuck gave a small bow. "I will see you later to discuss our... Project. "

Blair watched Chuck walked down the hallway and disappeared around the corner. Did Chuck just see her to her classroom?

* * *

The bell rang, signalling lunch for everyone. Finally! Most students would hurry, but not Blair. After all, she can't look too eager to have lunch together with the Queen, right? So she took her time.

When she reached the courtyard, she immediately spotted _them_. It was hard to miss, actually. They were in the center of the courtyard where everyone could see them. Amber was sitting on top of the table, taking her rightful place. Veronica was sitting on the chair of Amber's right and Eunice's on Amber's left. Penny was sitting next to Eunice and Michelle, being the last in rank, did not get to sit. So she stood. The seating arrangement may seem insignificant to others, but in reality, it meant so much more. It was _everything._ It stands for their ranking in the Elite. _One day,_Blair thought, _she will be sitting on top of the table too. It's her rightful throne. It's only right. _

Serena was there too, standing opposite Amber, laughing at something Amber said. But she stood out from the minions. Serena_always_ stood out. She just don't blend in with the others. If the world's a stage, then the spotlight is always on Serena van der Woodsen.

"You're late." Amber stated the obvious when Blair approached them. Her eyes cold.

"Sorry, I got held back by a teacher." Blair lied. She knew Amber would know, but what could she do?

"Don't be late again. No exceptions." Amber said, her tone harsh.

Blair just nodded.

"So Blair, tell us about your mother. Did you get to see her at work? Do you get to go to all the fashion shows? Did she make one-of-the-kinds for you? Spill!" Michelle gushed excitedly.

Blair grinned. First day in school and she already had her first fan. She sneaked a glance at Amber. Amber's eyebrows were raised as she looked at Blair, waiting for her reply.

"Well, yes, I do get to see her at work sometimes, though she prefers to work at her studio. It's very fun actually, seeing her work out some of her greatest master piece. As for the fashion shows, well, it's tradition for me and Serena actually. We get to go to the backstage of the shows so it's really fun. " Blair gave a smile in the direction of the Queen.

"That's so cool!" Michelle shrieked. Blair caught the Veronica and Eunice giving each other a knowing look. It was obvious that they approved of Blair. This is good.

"Yeah, it really is! Blair and I always go to for the backstage. It's where the real fun begins! You get the see the models getting ready, and Eleanor getting paranoid... The last show was a blast! We stole one of Eleanor's accessories just to see her reaction and it was hilarious! Isn't it, B?" Serena asked,putting a hand over Blair's arm.

"It is." Blair laughed. "She's always so paranoid when it comes to her work. And in my opinion, the dress looked way better without that hideous bangle." Blair rolled her eyes at the thought of that bangle. It really WAS one of the most ugly thing she ever saw. She wondered why her mother made such a wrong judgement.

"When's the next show, B? I can't wait!" Serena asked in excitement.

"It's in two months' time, actually. I can help to put you all in the second row if you want to watch the show." Blair offered, a gleam in her eyes.

"Really? Oh my god! That's incredible! The second rows are for celebrities! I once saw Hillary Duff in the second row at one of Waldorf's show!" Michelle was already jumping up and down in excitement.

_This is it, _she thought. If Amber agreed, that means that they will actually be 'friends' until then. Which means she will let Blair into the Elite!

Blair's heart pounded against her ribcage as she watched Amber's reaction. Amber looked at Veronica, the next in rank to hear her opinion on this.

_Please let it be good, please let it be good. _Blair prayed silently.

"That's a good idea." Veronica said, nodding her head in agreement.

Amber gave a small nod and looked to her left, at Eunice.

"I agree." Eunice nodded too.

"Well, I look forward to the show then, Blair." Amber gave her agreement on Blair's offer.

"Sure, I will get the best seats for you." Blair said, trying to keep her expression down. Inside, she was screaming '_Yes! Yes! Yes!', _but of course, she can't show it.

The bell rang and Amber hopped gracefully on her feet.

"I will see you again tomorrow then. Don't be late again, Blair." Amber warned before she led her minions down the hallway. Michelle waved to Blair when she passed her.

Making sure Amber and her minions were far enough away, Blair let go of her bottled emotions.

"Oh my god Serena! This is it! I'm in the Elite!" Blair shouted and started to jump around in circles. Luckily for Blair, only some of the students were still lingering in the courtyard.

Serena laughed and pulled Blair to a standstill.

"Stop jumping around!" Chided Serena. "You got a reputation to keep, remember?" Serena raised her eyebrow at Blair.

"Right, right.." Blair mumbled, and pulled down on her skirt.

"It's time for class. Again." Serena rolled her eyes. "First day in school and I can't stand it anymore! Shall we go get a drink after school?"

"I can't. I need to scheme." _With Chuck, _she added silently. Blair knew Serena didn't approve of Chuck. To Serena, Chuck is the devil and can't be trusted. Blair thought that Serena was being too judgemental. But still, it will be best not to tell Serena that she had plans with Chuck unless it was absolutely necessary. She wasn't exactly lying to her best friend, was she? She simply wasn't telling the whole truth. It's different.

"Fine, I will ask Georgie then." Serena said, already fishing her phone out to text Georgina.

"Eww. That whore? I still don't understand why do you stay in contact with her. She's in a _public school, _for god's sake." Blair made a face.

"To each her own, Blair. I will see you later then. Bye." Serena then turned and left.

On her way to the classroom, Blair was texting away.

_My house. After school. -B _

_I've always knew you want me, B. -C_

Blair made a disgusted face. Why is he always so.. Heinous? She pressed furiously into her phone.

_Keep it up and you will be going to the top of my hit list. _

_My pleasure, your majesty._

* * *

**So, how is it? Should I focus more on the Queen Bee Project? Let me know! **


	3. The Queen Bee Project

**Chapter 3**

* * *

"Chuck!" Harold greeted him with a handshake once Chuck stepped out of the elevator. "Wow, look how big you've grown! I haven't see you for a long, long time. You should visit more often!"

"Mr Waldorf, nice to see you too. Is Blair in her room?" Chuck greeted politely. Out of all the UES parents, he probably liked Harold the best. He's the most genuine one out of all the parents, and depsite Chuck's reputation, Harold always seemed so happy to see him. On top of that, he's probably the only parent who cared for his child from his heart.

"Yes, yes. Go have a good time." Harold smiled and nodded his head in the direction of the stairs.

Chuck nodded and head up to Blair's room. The door to her room was left ajar and Chuck stopped at the door to take in the sight. Blair was lying on her bed with her Macbook on her lap. She had changed out of her uniform and was now wearing a cream coloured romper with navy colour tights. Her eyebrows were knitted together while she studied something on the screen. How he love Blair when she is plotting.

As if sensing his presence, she looked up.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asked, frowning. Blair did not like the idea of Chuck staring at her without her noticing.

"So," Chuck strolled into the room, ignoring her question. "What do you have in mind?"

Blair glared at him for a while and decided that the Queen Bee project should be the focus.

"It's simple really. Step one would be to get into the Elite, which I already did, by the way." Blair can't help but feel proud about herself for getting into the Elite so easily. "Next, would be to befriend Amber. This may require some difficulty, but I'll mananage." Blair gave a small nod. "The final step. Ultimate destrustion." Blair looked at Chuck and gave her best wicked smile. "I will destroy her before she graduates and take over her position. The girls in school will fall to their feet then, while her minions will worship the ground I walked on. Minions are never that loyal." Blair shrugged. " Sure, they carried out Amber's orders dutifully now, but when they saw for themselves how Amber had lost her power, they will find themselves another Queen Bee."

"And that's when you come in." Chuck pointed out.

"Yes." Blair smiled wistfully. " But in order to do so, I need to know everything, and I do mean _everything _about Amber."

"Easy. I'll have my PI check up for you." Chuck was already dugging into his pocket for his phone.

Blair rolled her eyes.

"It's not that easy, _Chuck. _Your PI cannot know her deepest, darkest secrets, no matter how capable he is. Her minions will."

"Ah, that's when you are wrong. Money can buy you anything, and money will buy me -and you- the information we need."

"No, I'm not wrong. You are." Blair spat. " I would know a girl better than you do, and Amber will confess to her minions."

"Let's prove our points. One week later, we will meet again and compare the results that we have gathered using our different methods." Chuck suggested.

"Is that a challenge?" Blair's eyes narrowed.

"Maybe. Unless you are not up for it." Chuck smirked. He loved a challenge more than anything and he knew Blair would love it too.

"Deal." Blair held out her hand.

"Deal." Chuck agreed, and took Blair's dainty hand. Why is Blair's hand so small? Are all girls' hands so small? He didn't notice before. No, he's pretty sure it's just Blair's. And her skin is so soft! And it just felt so.. right holding her hand like that.

Chuck didn't notice he had been holding Blair's hand for far too long until Blair struggled out of his grasp.

"Chuck!" Blair yelled.

Shocked, Chuck let go. Blair withdrew her hand immediately.

"I hope you are not in one of your fantasies again because that's just too gross. Not to mention pathetic."

"Don't worry, my fantasy wouldn't include you even if you begged for it." Chuck lied. Of course he had plenty of fantasies including Blair. Damn, most of the times it _was _about Blair. Why wouldn't it be? She's the forbidden fruit; Basically every guy's dream. Archibald had no fucking idea how lucky he is.

"That's it. Out." Blair pointed in the direction of the door.

"As you wish, my queen. " Chuck Bass bowed to her before exiting her room.

* * *

The next morning, Blair was in Starbucks, sipping on her latte, her legs crossed at her ankles, waiting. Finally, Michelle, dressed in a red coat walked in.

"Michelle!" Blair called out to her.

Michelle was more than happy to see Blair. Blair had officially became her new favourite person in just a few days. She walked over to the table where Blair was sitting.

"Blair! What are you doing here?" Michelle asked.

"Oh, nothing." Blair shrugged. "I like to come here to have my morning latte before school sometimes. What are you doing here?" Of course Blair knew Michelle would be here. That's why she came. She wanted to talk to Michelle in private, without Amber around.

"I come here every morning to pick up coffe for Amber. And for the rest of the group. " Michelle shrugged.

"They asked you to do that? That's not very nice." Blair tried to look sorry.

"It's ok. I mean, Amber don't just ask anyone to do it. You have to hang out with her long enough before she starts asking you to do things for her. It's sort of an honour, actually."

_Eww. How pathetic can this girl gets? _Blair thought. Amber better not start ordering _her_ around. If not Dorota would get a lot more busier.

Blair tried to mask her feelings and gave a small smile instead. "You know what, Mich? I have a favour to ask, actually. You see, I have a upcoming party but I couldn't decide on what dress to wear. Why don't you come over to my house tomorrow to help me decide?"

"Really? That would be great! I would love to see all the Eleanor Waldorf Originals you have!" Michelle grinned.

"Good. I will text you the address later." Blair smirked. Her plan was going as good as it it could be.

* * *

"This is hideous." Blair exclaimed as she looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror. She was wearing a black dress with thin straps that goes up to just her knees . The dress was too long in her opinion, and it made her legs looked shorter than ever.

"No, it's not. It's beautiful. I think it's a real classic." Michelle said. Her eyes shone with admiration for the dress.

Blair rolled her eyes. Michelle had been of no help. All she said all day was "it's gorgeous" or "it's beautiful". Blair wasn't lying about the upcoming party that she was going to attend. The Archibalds were hosting a party this weekend and being Nate's girlfriend, she need to look good. All the UES parents and their offsprings are going to be there. She hoped she will be able to look good enough so that Nate can be proud of her on his arm. Blair sighed loudly and peeled off the dress.

A thought came to her suddenly.

"Michelle?" Blair asked, her voice going up at the end.

Michelle looked up at her with curious eyes.

"Why don't you take this dress with you? I think it will look great on you." Blair gave a wide smile.

"No, no. I couldn't." Michelle said so, but her eyes never left the dress once.

"Of course you can. I will be so grateful if you can help me get rid of it. It doesn't flatter me at all." Blair said, pushing the dress into Michelle's arm.

"If you say so. Thank you so much. " Michelle grinned while stroking the satin in her hand.

Blair pulled her slip over her and sat beside Michelle.

"You know,Mich, Amber is just so pretty. I'm can't figure out why she doesn't have a boyfriend. That's just a pity, don't you think?" Blair began to dig for the dirts.

"Well, not really..." Michelle seemed to be hesitating.

"No?"

"Well..." Michelle looked left and then right to make sure no one's listening although they were in Blair's room. "You see, Amber is actually hooking up with someone from the lacrosse team in . His name is Lucas." Michelle whispered.

Blair's eyes light up with delight.

"That's great! For her, I mean. Why haven't I seen them around school?"

"The thing is," Michelle paused for dramatic effect. "the guy's attached."

Blair was getting more and more excited by the minute.

"Then... How? Why?" Blair tried to look as if genuinely puzzled.

"He's hot." Michelle shrugged. "And apparantly, a very good kisser. Lucas was not that willing at first. But Amber seduced him at a party when Rachel, that's his girlfriend's name by the way, was away in Mexico for the holiday. And he just couldn't stop after that. So they hooked up like, once or twice a week when Rachel is in her violin class or whenever Rachel's not around."

Blair nodded. This piece of information could really come handy someday.

By the end of the day, Blair found out that Amber and Lucas had been hooking up for three months now, Amber wished to go to Brown and Amber's parents weren't sleeping together anymore. Oh, and she had a puppy called Cash.

"Thank you so much for the dress, Blair. I really, really appreciate it so much." Michelle gushed.

"Oh no, thank _you. _I mean, for helping me choose the perfect dress." Blair smiled.

"No problem. I guess I will see you in school. Bye." Michelle began to head down the stairs.

"Wait!" Blair stopped her.

Michelle whipped her head around. Did she forget something?

Blair looked at her for a moment, thinking.

"Wait here." She ordered.

Michelle simply nodded and stood where she was.

Blair hurried into her room and reappeared again, holding something in her hand.

"This is for you. I think it will look perfect with the dress."

Michelle's eyes widened at the sight of it. In her hands, is a headband. The headband is cream in colour and had a pretty big satin bow.

"Thank you, it's so pretty." Michelle took over the headband as if receving an award.

"Go ahead, put it on." Blair suggested.

Michelle nodded and put the headband on.

"How do I look?" Michelle asked timidly.

"Perfect." Blair grinned.

"Thank you so much again Blair. Bye."

Blair waved and watched Michelle disappeared into the elevator. She had just recruit her first soldier into her army. A soldier wearing high heels and headbands of course.

* * *

**I'm not so sure about this chapter.. Hope I did it right. Please review and let me know what you think. :) **


	4. Deal with the Devil

**A/N: I would just like to tell you guys how I look at the relationship between Nate, Blair and Chuck before you read this chapter. Maybe it will help you understand the way I write my stories.**

**The way I see it, Nate do love Blair. Maybe just as a friend, maybe more. But at the same time, he's smitten with Serena. And because Blair's always by his side, he did not cherish her. Part of the reason why Nate dated Blair may be due to pressure from his family and from their circle of friends. Everyone looked upon them as the perfect couple, so he played the part. Nate did not follow his feelings towards Serena because he knew Serena don't feel that way towards him and besides, he's already with Blair (Obviously that didn't stop him later on when he slept with Serena). Blair thought that Nate's her destiny, her prince, her everything. At least, she thought so before she found out Nate slept with Serena. So she was determined to be this perfect girlfriend, at least, on the surface. As for Chuck, I believed he had feelings for Blair way before the limo sex. I believed that love, or butterflies in this case, do not just happened overnight. They developed. The limo sex is just a catalyst, or it just made him acknowledged his feelings for Blair. And because he knew Blair was obsessed with the idea that Nate's her destiny, that changes things. But Chuck being Chuck, is always looking for opportunities to get 'closer' to Blair. I mean, if you paid attention, you will notice that Blair's the only girl whom he somehow gets along with. That meant for something, right? **

**Just sharing my thoughts about this love triangle. People may have different opinions, do let me know too! I would love to hear the different views from others. :) **

**Finally, enjoy. :)**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Blair was bored. Seriously, what was so funny about what Serena had just said? Why do the stupid minions had to laugh at every fucking thing she say? If she didn't knew any better, she would have thought Serena was a comedian. Amber did not laugh with the rest of the lowly minions , but she looked interested. And she didn't interrupt Serena or cut her off like what she did to Blair. Every time Blair said something, Amber looked at her with the can-you-be-any-less-boring face. Blair stopped trying for a while after that, knowing it just won't work. She needs to move on to Step Two of the project, and fast. But how? How do you befriend the Queen Bee? Just as she was pondering about the question, her thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

"Hey, Blair." Nate said softly, his voice travelled from behind her.

Blair whipped her head around to see Nate, looking as cute as she remembered.

"Hey, Nate." Blair breathed out.

"Hi, Serena." Nate greeted Serena with a nod.

"Hi, Nate." Serena grinned.

"Can I steal Blair away from you girls for a second?" Nate asked.

Blair was almost afraid to look at Amber. Is there such a thing as boyfriends visiting hours here? Wait. Amber didn't even know Blair had a boyfriend. Amber was far too interested in Serena's stories to be interested in hers. Just when Blair was certain that Amber would say something rude or sarcastic, to her relief, Amber nodded.

"Thank you." Nate threaded his fingers around Blair and bring her away from the girls, to the corner of the courtyard.

Blair hugged Nate once they were in the corner.

Breathing into his hair, she mumbled, "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Blair." Nate's arms found their way around her waist, holding her tight.

Then, gently, he pulled her away, breaking the hug.

"But it certainly didn't feel like you miss me a lot when you didn't reply my texts or only give 5 seconds calls."

"I did reply your texts." Blair retorted.

" 'Can't talk. Talk 2 U later.' Is not exactly replying my texts, Blair." Nate's voice was soft. _At least he wasn't mad_, Blair thought.

"I'm sorry. It's just that, I'm really busy with the Queen Bee project." Blair apologised. She did feel bad for neglecting Nate over the past few days. They used to talk over the phone at least once a day, or at the very least, text each other when they were not able to. But Blair had not call Nate since... Well, since school had started. And they certainly did not get to spend time together alone ever since then.

"What's a Queen Bee project?" Nate asked, puzzled.

"It's the project to take over the girls, remember? Did you even remotely listen to me for the past few months?" Blair asked. She loved a lot things about Nate. But Nate's inability to listen to her talk is one thing that she find it difficult to understand. Is she really that boring?

"Look. You know I always don't approve of you manipulating people. You do that in middle school and see where that gets you."

"Popularity! Why can't you see how important that is to me?" Blair whispered, but her pitch was high as she tried her best not to shout, not wanting to draw attention. Blair took a step back. How dare he said it like all she did was bad and mean things. Yes, sometimes she may not be exactly nice to people, but they always deserve it. Well, almost always. They should have know better than to mess with Blair Waldorf anyway.

"All I'm saying is," Nate took one step closer to Blair, closing the gap in between them. His voice was soft again, "I don't approve of it. But fine, I won't stand in your way. I just hope it won't stand in our way either. I want to see my girlfriend more often." Nate took one of Blair's hand and bring it up to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss.

Blair softened at the touch. Nate always did know what to do to make her anger go away. Maybe it's due to experience.

"It won't. I'm sorry for not calling you often. I will call tonight ok? Before I sleep. We can talk then." Blair gave an encouraging smile.

"Or maybe, we can talk after school. How about dinner together?" Nate suggested.

Blair's smile disappeared.

"I can't. I got... this thing with my mother. She wanted me to have dinner with her tonight so she can talk to me about her upcoming designs." Blair tried to keep a straight face. She hates lying to Nate, but it's necessary this time.

"Oh. Ok." Nate looked down and stared at his shoes. He looked like a sad puppy to Blair.

"But I will see you at the party that your parents are holding this weekend,ok?" Blair tried to lighten up the mood.

"Yeah. You are coming with your parents right? Do you need me to meet you at your house or something?" Nate asked, looking up again, his blue eyes looking into hers.

"No, it's ok. I'm going with my parents." Blair shook her head, her loose curls shaking around her face.

Nate nodded.

"Call me, ok?" Nate tipped her chin up.

Blair nodded and leaned in to share one sweet kiss with her boyfriend.

_

* * *

_

Amber eyed the freshman from head to toe as he talked to Serena and Blair. His hair was a sandy blond and his eyes were bluer than the Caribbean sea. He looked good, for a freshman. He got nerve, Amber thought. Most guys would know that the center table in the courtyard is out of bounds for all guys, no matter how hot or rich they were. If they want to talk to one of them, they will just have to wait until after they were dismissed. But this guy just walked in. Either he's really daring, or he simply don't understand the rules.

So when he asked if he could speak with Blair, she gave her permission, seeing it as a reward for his bold actions.

"Who is he?" Amber asked as she watched them walked away, hand in hand to the corner.

"He's Blair's boyfriend, Nate Archibald. We've known each other since we were practically babies. And Blair's obsessed with him." Serena giggled.

Amber raised an eyebrow. That's interesting.

"Archibald as in the Captain Archibald?" Amber asked.

"Yeah. Do you know him?" Serena asked.

"No, no. I've just heard of The Captain before. And his wife. Anne Van der Bilt."

Who could have think that Blair is dating the heir of Van der Bilt. Blair deserved credit for hooking herself up with a heir of Van der Bilt. Amber had clearly underestimated her. When Amber first invited Serena and Blair to lunch, that was because she recognised some of herself in Serena. Serena looked just like her when she was a freshman. Not in terms of looks of course. But Serena had that glow. That glow that turned heads. And she was beautiful, like her. Amber had took an instant liking to Serena she first saw her at the bathroom, dispelling the awkward situation using a smart move like that. When Amber saw Blair wearing the exact same shoes at her, she was furious. But of course, she wouldn't say anything to her in her face. Amber refused to give Blair her attention. She was planning to ask Eunice to steal Blair's shoes, and her clothes away when she was in gym and then threw them away. But Serena's words made her change her mind. And then Amber saw threat in Blair from the way she spoke to her. She knew girls like Blair. They all wanted the same thing. So she invited Blair to lunch, wanting to see how much of a threat she can be. Things changed when Blair said she can hook them up with seats to a fashion show, she figured that Blair could be useful to her in the future. So she let her stay. But girls like Blair, they don't have the potential to be Queen.

* * *

Blair watched Nate walked off and then returned to the center table, where she saw Amber was waiting.

"So, Blair. You are dating Nate Archibald." Amber stated. It wasn't a question.

"Yes." Blair replied, not knowing where this will lead her to.

"He's pretty cute." Amber nodded.

Blair grinned. She was still feeling rather light-headed from the kiss she shared with Nate just now, and now, to have Amber actually 'approve' of her boyfriend, she couldn't stop smiling.

"He's my perfect prince." Blair confessed.

Amber only nodded her head again, and dismissed them when the bell rang.

* * *

When Blair turned down his dinner suggestion, the first thing, or rather, the first person that came to his mind was Serena. So he asked her out for coffee after school. She agreed.

"Hey." Serena said when she sat herself down in the seat opposite Nate.

"Hey." Nate replied. "I had already ordered for you. Hope you don't mind." Nate pointed at the cup of coffee in front of Serena.

"Oh no, it's ok." Serena gave a smile as she sipped on the coffee.

"So what's up?" Serena asked. Usually, there must be something Nate wanted to talk about when he asked her out for coffee. Usually, that 'something' had to do with Blair. She had been friends with both of them for far too long. She was always the middleman between the two of them.

"It's just, Blair." Nate confessed.

_Bingo_, Serena thought.

"You know I always dislike, or maybe even hate the way she schemes and made use of others for her own benefit. It's just so selfish. And.. bitchy. That's not the Blair I like." Nate rambled on. "And believe me, I do like her. A lot. In my heart, she's this very sweet and nice girl. But whenever she does things like that... It made me doubt the fact if she's as good as I thought she is."

Serena nodded. She understood what Nate is going through. She had been watching Blair from the side ever since Blair learned that she could actually made use of others to her advantage. And that was when Blair was like, five or six. It started innocently at first, just battling of eyes and giving the innocent look to her dad to get the toys she wanted or to get her dad to stay in to play with her. But then it turned worst when they started elementary school. And the story goes on. The moral of the story? Blair always get her way.

"Natie, don't doubt the fact that Blair is indeed, a very good girlfriend to you." Serena began her speech. The one she used whenever Nate came to her complaining about Blair. She said it so many times, she could remember everything word by word. "She just liked to do things her way. You just had to accept her for what she is. Just like the way she accept you for who you are."

Nate nodded, staring at his cup of coffee.

"Thank you, Serena. You really are a good friend." Nate said eventually when he finally looked up. He closed his hand over Serena's, giving it a squeeze.

Serena squeezed back.

"Don't mention it." Serena said with a smile.

* * *

"Waldorf." Chuck greeted as he strolled into Blair's room.

"Heard of knocking?" Blair snapped. She hated the way he always walked in as if he's very familiar with her room. Or worse - with her.

"No." Chuck looked hard into Blair's eyes. Did she honestly expect the great Chuck Bass to knock? He then began to pick up pieces of jewellery from her table to study them. "I got your message." Chuck stated the obvious.

"Don't touch my stuff!" Blair grabbed her jewellery to put it back carefully to exactly where it was before Chuck picked them up.

Chuck just turned and sat on the edge of her bed.

"So what's the emergency? The week's not up yet." Chuck said.

"I know. It's not about that. I need to get into Amber's good side. She likes Serena more than me now, and if things go on like this, it will _threaten _me." Blair bit down her lip. She hated how she always felt so insecure around Serena, but she couldn't help it. She knew Serena couldn't help the fact that she's this gorgeous blond goddess either. Always so carefree, with no expectations weighing her down. She can just get wasted if she wanted to, and have sex with random hot guys. But not Blair. No, too many people expect too much from her. Especially her mother. She expects Blair to be this prim and proper young lady. So she would be. She don't want to disappoint her mother, she want her to be proud of her daughter.

Chuck sighed silently. Blair was being insecure. Again. He wanted to tell her that it wasn't like this, that she's just as good as Serena. If not, better. But this time, maybe she was right. Chuck had been quietly observing them during lunch for days now and it did seem as though Amber liked Serena better than Blair.

"What do you have in mind?" Chuck asked.

"I need Veronica to help me. I need more people on my side." Blair said.

Chuck simply nodded.

"And how are you going to do that?" Chuck asked.

"That's your job! Didn't you say you say you want to 'help' me?" Blair used her fingers to make the quotations signs. She can't believe Chuck asked her such a dumb question.

"And how do I gain from all this?" Chuck questioned.

"Satisfaction." Blair replied. "You are making history, Chuck Bass. I'm going to be the first sophomore Queen Bee and you should be honoured to be in the process."

"I don't give a damn about _girls _history, Waldorf. That's not enough." Chuck shook his head.

Blair sighed. She didn't want to admit this, but she could really use Chuck's help this time. She couldn't possibly go up to Veronica and ask her to put in a good word for her in front of Amber. That was too obvious. She can't threaten Veronica either. Seniors probably wouldn't accept threats from a freshman. And it may backfire. What if Veronica told Amber? No, she definitely need someone to do it for her.

"What do you want, Chuck?" Blair sighed again. She was making a deal with a devil, there were bound to be risks.

"A kiss." Chuck smirked.

"What! Are you crazy!" Blair yelled. "I'm with Nate! He's your best friend!" Blair couldn't believe her ears. She knew Chuck don't know his limits sometimes, but this is just too crazy. Even for Chuck.

"I'm not asking for sex, Blair. Loosen up,will you? It's just a kiss. Think of it as... A dare. Nate didn't seem to mind when he practically make out with Serena in front of you at the last truth or dare session. " Chuck immediately regretted his words when he saw Blair's face fell. For a minute, he swore he saw tears in her eyes. He panicked. Yes, Chuck Bass panicked. But being Blair Waldorf, she recovered fast. Any traces of hurt disappeared from her face as if they didn't surface before. He felt relief that she recovered fast. It proved that she was at the very least, herself again. At the same time, he find comfort that Blair was still the same Blair; Never letting others see her when she was weak.

Blair considered his words for a while. Chuck was right. It was just a kiss. It didn't have to mean anything. In a way, she would also be able to get revenge on Nate. He had broken her heart, kissing Serena like that in front of her. Yes, she knew it was just a dare. But he didn't have to be so into it. She had forced herself not to think about it since then, and had behaved as though nothing had happened, as if she wasn't upset and mad. In actual fact, she wanted to scream and yell in front of Nate. She wanted to demand an apology, or at least, hear it from Nate himself that that kiss was nothing. It meant nothing. But she didn't because she couldn't. She didn't want to risk it. Nate's her way to her happiness. It's too important to her. Kissing Chuck behind Nate's back will make her feel better, knowing she had her revenge. Besides, she could really, really use Chuck's help.

"On one condition." Blair said with folded arms. "No one can know."

"Deal." Chuck extended his hand.

Blair took it unwillingly and they shook.

"I hope Nathaniel trains you well." Chuck leaned in and whispered in her ear.

* * *

**Thoughts? **


	5. The Archibald's party

**A/N: Things are definitely getting a lot more interesting in this chapter.**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

The party was held in the Archibald's house. They had caterers for the night, and fine wines were opened. The room was light up beautifully with the chandeliers and flowers were everywhere. The floral scent hit Blair the moment she walked in. It was a semi-formal event, so she was dressed in a navy feminine spaghetti strap dress with layers of ruffles lining the skirt. She had her hair up with a cream color headband for the night. She even thought that the dress was perfect. That was before she spotted Nate and all happiness from her choice of dress vanished. Blair groaned. She should have known. Nate was dressed in a white shirt with a hideous brown jacket and black long pants. She knew she should have call Nate and make sure that their colors matched. But no, she thought navy was a safe color. Look where it brought her now. But then again, who in the world wears _brown _to a party_? _ And it was not even the kind of dark brown she had on her hair, but the kind of brown that you will never find on the runway.

"Good evening, Mr Waldorf." Nate greeted, shaking his hand. He then turned to Eleanor and gave her a polite kiss on the cheek. "You are looking good, Mrs Waldorf."

"You too, Nate." Eleanor replied.

"Hey Blair." Nate kissed both of Blair's cheek.

"Nate." Blair forced a smile on her face. She can't scowl at him; They were in the middle of the room where everyone can see them. "Darling, why don't you change into a more...apprioriate outfit? Something that will match my dress?" Blair said in a tight voice while pulling him away from her parents.

"But..." Nate wanted to protest, but he saw the look on Blair's face. "Ok. I will be back soon." Nate murmured.

Blair grabbed a glass of champagne from one of the many waiters walking around the room with their hands balancing a full tray of champagnes and took a sip, surveying the room. The Van der Woodsens were here, she saw Lily and Eric over there at the other end of the room but Serena wasn't here yet. She probably should say hi to Lily and Eric, but she was not in mood right now. Maybe later.

"I see that golden boy there is sent back to his room."

Blair rolled her eyes. There he goes again, never annoucing his arrival in normal fashion. Why can't it be just a 'Hello" or a 'How do you do, Blair'? Oh right, because he's Chuck Bass.

"Ha. Ha. Chuck. Real funny." Blair said sarcarstically. "He was wearing this brown jacket that he picked up from the trash can. It was _necessary._"

"We always did know that Nathaniel did not have a fashion sense as good as mine." Chuck said smugly.

Blair eyed Chuck. Chuck was wearing a light purple jacket over a white button down shirt and dark purple pants. Chuck always had very bold choices of colors. Blair actually admired him for it. Eleanor had always told her that the fashion is all about being bold. You can't lead the fashion in school if you are always wearing the same thing. Blair had always followed Eleanor's advice. And at least purple and navy are right beside each other on the color wheel. But Blair still rolled her eyes, refusing to give Chuck the satisfaction. She decided to ignore Chuck and continued to sip on her champangne, praying Nate will return return faster.

"I have something on that little brunette." Chuck announced.

Blair immediately turned to Chuck, her dark brown eyes wide.

"What?" Blair asked.

Chuck smirked. He knew that would get her attention for sure.

"You know how she always said she was a virgin and that she was saving for someone special?"

"I take it that she lied." Blair said, a grin on her face. She liked where this conversation is going.

"Not only that. She had an abortion last year in Europe. From the information I gathered, her parents didn't know."

Blair raised her eyebrows.

"I have to say, you did well, Bass." Blair praised.

Chuck shrugged.

"How do I deserve those lips of yours otherwise?" Chuck gave his bottom lip a lick. His gaze were fixed on Blair's ruby red lips.

Blair snapped her fingers in front of Chuck. Chuck averted his gaze away from those irrestiable lips.

"Chuck! I said, no one must know!" Blair reminded him.

"Relax, Blair. No one will know. Unless, you want them too." Chuck said, his voice lower than usual.

"Well, I don't!" Blair snapped. She folded her arms neatly in front of her chest.

"So, when can I get my end of the deal?" Chuck asked. He can't wait already.

"After Amber changed her mind about me. That's the deal."

"I believe the deal was to get Veronica on your side. Whether or not Amber likes you, it's not part of the deal." Chuck pointed out. He didn't want Blair to find a loophole in their deal and then tries to wriggle herself out of it. A deal was a deal. And he wanted to close the deal fast.

"Well, Chuck." Blair took one step closer to Chuck. "Don't you think I'm worth it?" Blair began to trace one finger up his chest. "And it's easy, really. You already got the information we wanted. I just need you to put on one show with me." Blair smiled sexily up at Chuck.

"That's not part of the deal." Chuck pointed out. His eyes looking into Blair's.

"Can't you do just one more thing for me?" Blair took a step closer to Chuck, her body was now pressed up against his.

_Damn, this woman is good. _Chuck fisted his hands into balls and closed his eyes, enjoying the touch.

"Fine." Chuck choked out. He didn't really have a choice.

Xoxo

Nate was not pleased. It was just a small party for God's sake. Why did Blair have to be in control of everthing? Sometimes he swear he feels like Blair's muppet. He bet she didn't even consider his feelings when she 'asked' him to changed out of his clothes.

Still feeling grumpy, Nate began to storm down the stairs.

"Nate!"

Nate looked up to see a very wasted Serena who can barely stand. Serena looked dressed up for the party, but something tells him that she had been wearing the same very short dress since last night. Serena had probably been spending the last twelve hours or so drinking in clubs with Georgina. It's a wonder she still remembered to come.

"God, Serena. Blair and Lily are going to kill you!" Nate rushed forward to help her up. She looked like she was going to lose her balance any moment.

"Why? I have been such a good girl!" Serena pouted. She really was intoxicated.

"Because you reeked of alcohol and cigarettes! Let's get you to my room. You can't be seen like this." Nate began to steer Serena towards the direction of his room.

"Where have you been last night?" Nate asked while trying to get Serena to move. Serena was dragging her feet and was making it difficult for Nate.

"I was with Georgina! It was so fun, Nate! You should come with us next time!" Serena giggled.

"You know, you probably shouldn't hang out with Georgina that much. Blair hated her, Chuck avoided her all the time, and I'm not exactly a fan of Ms Sparks. There's a reason why you know. You hear me?" Nate looked at Serena when he got no answer to find that Serena's eyes were closed.

Nate sighed and put an arm under her knees and another under neck, lifting her up. He carried Serena to his room while Serena seemed to have doze off in his arms, her head lying against his chest. Luckily for Nate, his door was left ajar and using his foot, he opened the door and slammed it shut again when they were inside. Nate placed Serena gently on his bed. At the touch of satin against her back, Serena sighed happily and snuggled against Nate, who still had one arm under her head. Nate wanted to remove his arm from under Serena, but had no idea how to without waking her up. Gently, Nate stroked Serena's cheek and lifted some of her hair away from her face. He looked at the definition of beauty and perfection in front of him and had no idea how he could resist being 'just friends' with her for so long. Serena looked innocent when she was sleeping. Her eyes were closed, and you can see every one of her mascara-covered eye lashes clearly. Her eyeshadow were of a beautiful sky blue and her lips were pink. Like cotton candy. He wanted to taste her lips. Just once. He was not sure if he can live his life not knowing how it feels like to have those lips on his. But can he do it? No, of course not. He's with Blair. But... He looked down on those lips again. They were really irresitible. No one would have to know, right? Serena was clearly too intoxicated by now. She wouldn't remember a thing in the morning. And it will be just once, he promised himself that.

Then, Nate moved closer to her, tilted his head, and caressed her lips with his very own.

* * *

"Why is Nate taking so long?" Blair groaned. It had been half an hour since he went to his room to change. How long can it take just to change a jacket?

"Give him a break, Waldorf. You're his girlfriend, not his _mum._" Chuck said, ignoring the deadly glare Blair was giving him now and sipped on his glass of scotch. Over his top of his glass, he saw Lily walking towards them.

"Good evening,Lily." Chuck greeted.

"Lily! Hi! How are you doing?" Blair put on a great smile, all unfriendliness from a while ago disappeared.

"Charles, Blair, have you seen Serena?" Lily asked. She sounded worried.

"No, I haven't seen her around." Blair replied.

Lily sighed.

"She called me one hour ago, saying she was on her way over now. She sounded drunk. I wanted to go get her, but she hung up on me before I could ask her where she is. I was waiting for her here." Lily explained.

"Here comes Nate. Maybe he had seen her." Blair tried to assure Lily.

Nate had finally returned to the room, with a dark blue jacket on now.

"Nate, have you seen Serena?" Blair asked.

"Er. Yes. Why?" Nate looked flustered. He pulled at his jacket and shifted his weight nervously from one foot to another.

"Where is she?" Lily asked.

"She's in my room. She was drunk so I asked her to rest in my room until she feels better. She's sleeping now." Nate answered.

"Oh, thank you so much Nate." Lily said, placing one hand over Nate's arm. "But we don't want to trouble you. Eric and I will get her now. The party was great. Help me thanks your parents."

"You're welcome, Lily." Nate replied.

With that, Lily left to find Eric telling him they were leaving.

"Nate, are you ok?" Blair asked. Nate definitely wasn't his usual self.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Nate replied. He then snaked an arm around Blair and held her there.

While Blair was initially surprised that Nate would hold her like that suddenly, she was glad that he did. Breathing into Nate's aftershave, Blair felt safe with Nate holding her like that. She sighed happily into Nate's chest. Maybe she was reading too much into the picture. Everthing is ok.

Chuck kept quiet as he watched the words exhanged between Nate and Blair. Something was definitely wrong. And he was going to find out exactly what.

* * *

"Nathaniel, is there something you should be telling me?" Chuck went striaght to the point once Blair left Nate's side to find her parents.

"No, of course not. Why do you ask?" Nate was looking everywhere except into Chuck's eyes. He was not a very good liar and he knew it. Looking into Chuck's eyes will only make it a thousand times worse.

"Cut the act, Nathaniel. Blair may be taken in by your lies, but not me. What happened?" Chuck asked again.

Nate sighed. There was no point, really. Chuck woulf not let it rest until he knows the truth. Nate's eyes darted to the left, and then the right to make sure that no one was paying particular attention to their conversation.

"I kissed Serena." Nate confessed in a whisper.

Chuck raised his eyebrows.

"Serena was less loyal than I thought." Chuck said. He knew Nate had a thing for Serena, but he thought that Serena wouldn't let anything happen between them, seeing how she's Blair's best friend and Nate's Blair's boyfriend.

"It's not like that." Nate tried to explain. "She didn't know, she was drunk."

"Way to go, Nathaniel." Chuck smirked and raised his fist, wanting a fist bump. He thought that Nate would never have the courage to do it. But he did. He definitely had taught Nate well.

"It's nothing worth celebrating, Chuck. I feel so guilty right now looking at Blair." Nate's eyes were following Blair as she was talking happily to her parents. She didn't have a clue as to what he did. That made him feel even more guilty for kissing Serena. He didn't regret it, but he felt guilty.

"It was just a kiss, Nathaniel. It's not like you haven't kiss Serena before." The last thing Chuck wanted was for Nate to start buying Blair gifts, trying to make her happy so that he could compensate Blair. Which in turn, will make Blair guilty for agreeing to kiss Chuck. The next thing he know, Blair will be coming up to him saying 'Deal's off, Bass" . He definitely wouldn't want that.

"Yeah, but that was before Blair and I started dating, or it was just a game. It's different this time. I kissed her because I really wanted to. Blair would be furious if she finds out." Nate groaned into his hands.

"Lucky for you, I won't tell. And no one will know. Look, the last thing you wanted to do is to start acting suspicious by buying her flowers and tiffany. Just act normal. You will be fine." Chuck said, giving his best friend a pat on the shoulder.

"I hope so." Nate said with all his heart as he watched Blair laughed at something Harold just said. In spite of everything, sometimes he really do think he loves Blair. So Blair definitely can't find out about what happened tonight.

* * *

**Thoughts?**


	6. Sealing the deal

**Chapter 6**

* * *

"I know your secret."

She was quite sure she heard a voice, a low voice talking, but it was impossible. Because she only had one secret , thanks to Amber who told the rest away, and no one, NO ONE knows the secret. So it's not possible. The voice must not be talking to her. Hesitantly, Veronica continued putting her books into her locker.

"You know, what happened in Europe, don't always stay in Europe." The voice continued.

Veronica froze in her tracks. _Did he really know? _Her palms was cold and clammy now and a million thoughts ran through her mind. The best thing to do now was probably to face the enemy. So she took a deep breathe and slowly, she turned around and find herself looking at a dark-haired, handsome guy whom she had never seen before. For some reason, she was scared. It made no sense since she don't even know who he was.

"Who are you?" Veronica asked timidly.

"I'm Chuck Bass." He simply answered.

Although they were on eye level to each other, somehow the way this Chuck person said it, it made her feel as if she was on lower grounds.

"What do you know?" Veronica asked again, backing into her locker. She was almost too terrified to hear his answer.

"That you have an abortion in Europe." Chuck said with a small wave of his hand. "And may I add that you are definitely not the virgin you claimed to be?" Chuck added while leering up and down her body.

Under his leering, Veronica felt uncomfortable and began to look at the ground, avoiding his gaze. She would back up further if she could, but her back was already in firm contact with the cold walls of the locker. She kept quiet, not knowing what to say. One thing that she did know is that no one can know her secret. No one! She will be ruined if Amber knows about her lying about her virginity and she will be banished from the Elite forever. The next thing she knows, she will be having lunch by herself in the bathroom. And her parents! If her parents knew, they will definitely chase her out of the house. And she will be living on the streets! No, that can't happen.

"But you know what? It's your lucky day. I will keep your secret for you."

"You will?" Veronica felt a glimpse of hope. Maybe he was actually a good guy, despite the evil glow he was giving out right now. They always did say that you can't judge a book by its cover, right? So maybe he won't tell. Maybe everything's ok.

"On one condition." Chuck said.

Veronica nodded. She would do anything as long as the secret remains a secret.

"Sleep with me. "

Veronica gasped.

"What... What are you talking about?" Veronica stammered nervously.

"Oh come on, we both know that you are not the innocent girl you claimed to be. Besides, what other choice do you have? You wouldn't want the whole world to know, do you? Believe me, that can be easily arranged." Chuck warned.

"I..." Veronica opened her mouth, wanting to protest, but did not know what to say.

So she looked down, and prayed for help.

* * *

Blair was waiting for her great entrance, hiding around the corner. She was gauging for Veronica's reaction all along. When Veronica gasped and her eyes widened with shock, Blair knew Chuck had dropped the ultimate bomb. So she straightened up, strutted up to them and pretend she was just walking by.

"What's going on?" Blair asked sweetly, looking at Veronica.

"I.. Blair." Veronica whimpered. Veronica was looking at Blair, her eyes begging Blair for help.

Blair was so tempted to gave a smile of victory, knowing that the war was halfway won. Veronica had asked her for help! She didn't have to say it, but Blair knew; It was girls' language. Something guys will never understand. But she managed to compose herself and carry on the act. So she stood between Chuck and Veronica, and gave Chuck a small push in his chest, causing Chuck to take a small step backwards.

"Chuck. Can you stop terrorising my friend?" Blair said, making sure she emphasised on the word 'friend'.

"I'm just trying to have a deal with her. And believe me, she will be interested." Chuck looked pointedly at Veronica.

Veronica kept her head down and held on to Blair's arm. She was acting like a little girl hiding behind her parents when meeting strangers.

"Well, she's not. Why don't you leave now, Bass?" Blair's tone gave no room for any argument.

Chuck shrugged.

"I will give you 24 hours to consider. I can't guarantee anything after that." Chuck warned, looking at Veronica. He then turned to Blair gave her one hard look, turned and walked down the hallway.

"Come on, let's go." Blair said.

Veronica was already tearing as Blair put an arm around her and steer her in the opposite direction of Chuck's. Veronica kept her head down, not wanting the entire school population to know that she's crying. She did not catch the wink Blair threw to Chuck over their shoulders.

* * *

"When did it happened?" Blair asked gently as she passed some Kleenex to Veronica.

Veronica was crying her eyes out and sitting on top of a closed toilet seat. Her mascara was smeared and her eyes were red and swollen. Frankly, Blair thought she looked like a clown. But she was not going to say that to her of course. She was now playing the role of the perfect caring good friend and a perfect caring good friend passed their friends Kleenex when they are crying and assured them everything's going to be ok. And they don't mention the fact that their friends looked like a clown when they are crying.

"Last year." Veronica sobbed. "I was dating this guy. He was so cute! And I really liked him. So when he asked me for... You know." Veronica looked pointly at Blair. " I agreed. It was a mistake."

Veronica let out a sob again and blew her nose. It was not a pretty sight.

"When he found out that I was pregnant, he broke up with me." Veronica continued. " And I panicked. But thank god it was the last week of the semester. So I told my parents I was going to stay with my aunt who was living in Europe and I fly over there once school's over."

Blair gave Veronica a pat on her back like what a perfect caring good friend would do.

"And that's when you..." Blair wanted to put it nicely, but found that there was no nicer way to put it.

Veronica merely nodded her head.

"And now that Chuck Bass is blackmailing me! I don't even know him! Of course I don't wanna sleep with him!" Veronica let out a wail. "Oh, what am I going to do, Blair?"

_Perfect! _Blair thought quietly to herself.

Blair squatted down so she would be on eye level with Veronica and took her hands. She tried to ignore the fact that those hands were covered with germs from all her nose-blowing.

"Don't worry. Leave it to me. I will make sure that nothing gets out." Blair said, mustering the most assuring voice she could.

"Oh, thank you so much Blair!" Veronica threw her hands around Blair with joy.

_I so need to sanitise myself when I get back, _Blair thought as she patted Veronica's back.

* * *

_A job well-done to us both. -B_

Blair texted Chuck when she was on her way home. She wanted to go over to Nate's after school, but Nate said something about having to do homework and was apparently, too busy to see his girlfriend. He promised to call her when he reached home, though. He should be calling any moment now.

Blair was waiting for Nate's call while she changed out of her uniform. So when her blackberry vibrated, she eagerly picked it.

"Hello?" Blair greeted whoever's on the other end, hopefully Nate.

"Missing me already?" A low and husky voice spoke.

Blair rolled her eyes even though she knew he couldn't see it.

"What do you want, Chuck?" Why did speaking to Chuck always made her feel so tired?

"You said we did a job well-done. So I was thinking... We should celebrate." Chuck suggested.

Blair hesitated. Normally, she would turned down his suggestion without a doubt. But today, she didn't feel like studying and she wanted to get out of the house. With Nate saying he had to do 'homework' and Serena nowhere to be found, Chuck's suggestion sounds... Good. Besides, with the wonderful performance they had put up today, they really do deserve a celebration.

"My parents are out of town."

"I will be there in ten minutes." Chuck said before hanging up.

* * *

"I got the finest wine from my father." Chuck informed Blair when he walked in into her room.

Blair was putting on the final touch on her make-up when he walked in. Looking up from the mirror, Blair saw that Chuck had brought with him a bottle of red wine and two glasses. He was already setting the glasses down on top of her dresser and filling it up with wine. Blair then walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge of it.

"If we are celebrating, shouldn't we be drinking champagne?" Blair asked, eyeing the red wine Chuck had brought.

"Who says so?" Chuck raised an eyebrow. He then picked up the two glasses and brought it over to Blair. "To us?"

"To us." Blair said, taking over the glass from Chuck and raised it, tapping gently it against Chuck's, making a 'clink'.

Chuck drank all of it in one gulp and sat down beside Blair.

Blair took a sip. It was by far one of the best wine she ever had. She downed it in one gulp. It was that good.

"I hope that you had realised that one week is up." Blair reminded Chuck. "What dirt do you have on Amber?" .

"How can I forget a task given to me by the queen?" Chuck said, filling the glasses with wine again. "Well, according to my very reliable source, Amber's father, John Carmichael owns an insurance company."

"Her dad sells insurance? How boring." Blair said, scrunching up her nose.

"Ah, not just any insurance company, but one of the biggest in the country." Chuck informed Blair.

Blair rolled her eyes. That isn't much a of news, considering they went to one of the most prestigious school on the Upper East Side, is it?

"But," Chuck continued. "I heard that the company is not doing very well at the moment now. In fact, the company's in debt."

Blair's face lit up with joy.

"Oh, really?" Blair asked. Amber's misfortune will become something she can actually made use of.

Chuck simply nodded and took another swig of the wine.

Blair thought about it for a minute. How can she made use of this situation? Unfortunately, the thinking had to be done on another day.

"So, Waldorf." Chuck said, putting down his glass and the bottle of wine on the floor. "I did what you asked to that little brunette today. When do I get my end of the deal?"

Before she knew it, Chuck had already leaned in. He took the glass away from her hands, and was now looking at her with those eyes. The eyes that seemed to be filled with desire.

"Didn't you want to know what I found out about Amber?" Blair asked. Her eyes now fixed Chuck's lips. She had never kissed him before. Why would she when her first boyfriend was Nate? Besides, everyone was too afraid of the wrath of Blair Waldorf to dare her to kiss her in Truth or Dare. Not even Serena. Everyone just backed off. Now that she looked at it, Chuck's lips looked good enough. They seemed soft... And definitely kissable. Why didn't she think of kissing him before?

"No." Chuck mumbled.

He then leaned in closer, their lips were just an inch away from one another. Blair could already feel his breathe on her. And the smell! What Cologne did he use? Why did it smell so good? Blair's breathe was getting shorter as she anticipate the moment. She swore she could feel her heartbeat in her ears. She just hoped that Chuck couldn't hear it. She could never live it down if he knew how nervous she was now.

Slowly, Chuck closed the gap between them, and their lips were pressed up against each other. It was exactly what she expected, his lips were soft. Unknowingly, Blair moaned against his lips and threw her hands around Chuck. She then opened her lips, allowing Chuck's tongue to gain access. Chuck tasted like the wine they just had. It was good. More than good. She wanted to taste more. Before she knew it, she was responding eagerly to the kiss. Chuck's hands found their way around her waist and she liked it. She wanted to feel more of Chuck. So her hands went to the front of his shirt and she pulled him closer, earning a moan from Chuck. The kiss was nothing like the one she had with Nate. The one she had with Nate was just... Sweet. The one she was having now was full of passion. Chuck then pushed her down gently on the bed, and was now lying on top of her, in between her legs. He was heavy, but the weight felt comfortable. She didn't know how long they had been kissing, but at this exact moment, she didn't want them to stop.

* * *

**So this chapter is somehow, a lot harder to write. I edit it again and again, hoping it's good enough. **

**Is it good enough?**


	7. Everything changes

A/N: I just realised a terrible, terrible mistake that I had made: I left out Penny( See Chapter 1) in the previous few chapters I wrote. I guess that minions are really dispensable, eh? I created her myself yet I forgot about her existence. lol. Well, Penny really doesn't play an important role in this story so that may be why I forgot about her. To me, she is kind of like Hazel. She's just always in the background but there's no drama or spotlight on her. Hope I'm forgiven for my mistake?

Personally, I really liked this chapter although it's really hard for me to write. Hope you guys like it as much as I do. Enjoy! :)

**Chapter 7**

* * *

When Blair woke up the next morning, she hoped what she thought had happened didn't happened. Maybe, just maybe, it was just a nightmare. And everything will be the way it should be.

Unfortunately, she knew it wasn't a nightmare when she saw the missed calls and the text messages shown on the screen of her phone. How she had hoped it was a nightmare! After she had came to reality yesterday, realising what a big mistake she had made, she had decided to go to sleep early, hoping that when she woke up, she will realise that it was just a silly nightmare. But the reality was just so so cruel.

Giving a dramatic sigh, Blair pressed the little button on her blackberry and the screen shown:

**6 missed calls. **

**5 new messages.**

Blair decided to ignore the missed calls for now and went straight to the text messages. There were 5 in total.

_Call me :). -N _

That message was sent yesterday. When she was... Oh, never mind. Blair opened the next one.

_We need to talk. -C_

Talk? Since when did Chuck Bass want a 'talk'? Well,she had nothing to talk about with him. Blair continued to open the next one.

_Pick up your calls! -C_

Finally...

_Don't pretend it didn't happen! -C_

_Can we do lunch together today? I missed you. -N_

Reading Nate's message brought a smile on Blair's face. Finally! Something that's normal! She decided to ignore Chuck's annoying messages and replied only to Nate's.

_Sure! Meet you on the steps of Met? -B_

As she waited for Nate's reply, she walked over to her vanity table and began to brush through her hair, thinking about what happened yesterday. Did she really kiss Chuck? And enjoyed it? No, of course not. She didn't _enjoy _it. Of course she didn't. Why would she enjoy kissing someone who slept with a different whore every night? She will be glad if she didn't get some rare horrible disease just by touching him. Well, the kiss was _pleasant, _but she certainly didn't enjoy it. She blamed it on his kissing skills. Chuck Bass was a good kisser. She had to give him credit for that, considering how much _experience _he had at such a young age. But aside from that, there was nothing. No sparks or anything. The kiss was duller than the news that Lilly was getting married. Again. So that was it. She had a deal with Chuck, and she delievered her end of the deal. Absolutely nothing more to it. She had nothing to be guilty about.

Well, she was glad that she had sort out her feelings. She was indeed, feeling a bit confused last night. Must be the alcohol, she thought. Just then, her blackberry vibrated.

_Can't wait. ;) -N _

Blair smiled.

Xoxo

"Where are the 2 freshman?" Amber asked as she walked up to the table. There had been a pronouced missing number of people at the table.

"Oh, Serena's not in school today, she had a hungover. Again. And Blair's having lunch with Nate." Eunice informed Amber.

Amber sat on top of the table and knitted her eyebrows together at the information given.

"And who gave her the perimission?" Amber asked, clearly unhappy that the two freshman were not here.

"The school? I think her mum called the school or something..." Eunice explained, but Amber cut her off.

"Not her! Blair!" Amber shouted. God, how stupid can Eunice get?

"I did." Veronica spoke.

Amber whipped her head around, looking at Veronica now. Her emerald green eyes were looking straight into Veronica's blue ones.

"She asked me this morning, saying her boyfriend wanted to have lunch together with her today. And I figure, why not?" Veronica shrugged. Her body language, as well as her facial expressions, showed obviously that she thought nothing more of Blair's absence at the table.

"Veronica," Amber said through her tight lips, trying to keep her cool. "Once a girl is in, she is in forever. And their presence is required at the table _every day. _That is, unless, she is being kicked out permantly."

An idea suddenly came to her mind. She grinned.

"And you know what? That's what Blair is now. She's kicked out. Her presence is no longer reqired at the table anymore." Amber said with a gleam in her eyes.

"What!" Veronica couldn't believe it. She was just getting to know Blair!

The girls at the table all took the news differently. Eunice gasped, with her hand on her mouth; Penny's eyes widened at the news, but said nothing; Michelle merely looked at Veronica and Amber. It was not her position to speak. However, she prayed that Veronica would help defend Blair since she couldn't. Suddenly overnight, Veronica seemed a lot closer to Blair. Hopefully, close enough to stand up against Amber for her.

And when a girl is in, her presence is required _every single day_. They don't get to miss lunch at the table just beacuse they want to see their boyfriend. Do you understand?"

Amber's jaw was tight and the glare in her eyes seemed to challenge Veronica to say otherwise. However, Veronica don't seem to get the hint.

"What about Serena? She's not here either. In fact, it's not the first time she isn't having lunch with us at the table. She's being missing school so much, sometimes she only has lunch with us once or twice a week. But I don't see you complaining about her. It's the first for Blair, why are making such a big deal out of it?" Veronica protested.

Ever since Blair had been so kind to help her fight off that big jerk, Veronica had decided that Blair was her new best friend. Ok, that was only yesterday. But Blair was so nice to her! Blair didn't criticise her when she knew that she lied about being a virgin. Blair didn't even flinched when she knew that she had an abortion last year. She was so different from Amber! Such a refreshing change. Amber was such a bitch when it came to these things. Last year, when Amber found out that the girl in her biology class had an abortion, she called her a slut and did all kinds of mean things. The girl transferred to a public school by the end of the month. It was horrible. Besides, Amber was a big slut too. She was the one sleeping with a guy in a relationship. Who was she to judge?

"It's different, _Veronica." _Amber said in a tight voice.

Suddenly, Amber realised that the courtyard was quiet. No one was talking. Everyone was listening to the center table. It was obvious that they were in the center of everyone's attention, as usual. When did they start listening, she had no idea. What she did know is, she wasn't going to lose a fight with one of her minions.

"How is it any different?" Veronica yelled in reply. She was sick and tired of Amber being so biased against Blair, and favouring Serena so much. What did her new best friend did to deserve this? She may not be the brightest bulb in the school, but one thing she did know is that friends stick up for one another. And that's what she will do.

"Well, if you like to defend her so much, why don't you just go with her from now on?" Amber's cheeks were flushed with anger and her eyes were in a darker green now.

"Fine! Maybe I will!" Veronica yelled in response, standing up abruptly.

An intense glare competition broke out between Amber and Veronica. Then, Veronica broke off the glare and walked away from Amber, from the center table.

Amber glared at Veronica's back as she walked away. That ungrateful bitch! She took her in when they were in freshman year. If not for her, Veronica would not be even be invited to all those parties! She will never forgive her. Even if she comes begging for forgiveness on her knees.

"Never talk to Blair and that ungrateful person again." Amber ordered, her gaze still fixed on Veronica's back.

Eunice and Penny nodded at once. But Michelle hesitated. She liked Blair. A lot. She wasn't sure if she wanted to never speak to her again.

From the corner of her eyes, she had seen two nods. There was three of them. More angry than ever now, she turned to face the lowly minion.

"Michelle, am I understood?" Amber asked, warning in her tone.

Michelle kept her head down and kept quiet. She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to say yes. That would mean never speaking to Blair again. But she can't say no, can she?

"Michelle!" Amber shouted.

"No." Michelle finally answered, her voice so small, Amber would have thought Michelle didn't say anything if not for the movement of her lips.

"Excuse me?" Amber choked out.

"No! I like Blair! And I don't think she had done anything to deserve this!" Michelle yelled in response.

Amber's jaw dropped. She was shocked. Never in her dreams did she thought that her lowly minions would ever dare to as much as disagree with her. Not to mention yelling at her. But she composed herself fast, still aware of the many eyes on her right now.

"You can go now." Amber said, her voice cold. "And never, ever come back."

"Good! Because I don't plan to!" Michelle gave the shoulder strap of her bag a tug and ran after Veronica. "V! Wait up!"

_Fine, I don't need them anyway, _Amber thought as she watched Michelle ran after Veronica like a puppy running after its owner. _One day, they will come back, begging for my forgiveness. It's only a matter of time. They will come back, they always do. _

_Xoxo_

"Nate!" Blair threw her arms around Nate, holding him tight.

Nate gave a small laugh as he held her at her waist, breathing into her hair.

"Hey. I missed you too."

"I'm sorry that I didn't pick up your call yesterday." Blair said as she pulled back. "I was... A little busy."

"It's ok." Nate said with a smile. "Look." Nate began to pull Blair gently towards the steps. "I set up a pinic."

Blair gapsed at the sight. Nate had put out a red and white checkered blanket over the steps, with food laid out on it. There's bagels, sandwiches, macaroons, grapes and even champagne. It was a romantic gesture, it really was. Especially when it came from Nate.

Blair twined her hand together with Nate's and gave it a squeeze.

"Thank you." She whispered softly.

All of these would be very sweet, and it will be her dream date if not for the fact that the guilt for kissing Chuck, her boyfriend's best friend nevertheless, was gnawing at her heart. This pinic only made the guilt worsen. Just this morning, she had convinced herself that it was nothing, that she had nothing to be guilty about. It was just a deal; It was just like a dare in Truth or Dare. There was nothing more to it. But if that was so, why was she still feeling the guilt? She decided to push those horrible feelings aside for now, she had a boyfriend to please.

"Do you like it?" Nate asked, scrutinizing Blair's face for his answer.

"I love it." Blair answered softly.

She then leaned over and gave Nate's a soft, long kiss on his lips.

Xoxo

Around the corner, Chuck was watching the lovely-dovey couple making out on the steps. His blood was boiling with anger. His clenched fists only loosened a little when the couple pulled apart.

He had planned to corner Blair this morning. To give her no escape since apparently, she's avoiding his calls and his messages. But before he left his suite, Nate had shown up unexpectantly and told him in a too positive tone for his liking that he was going to surprise Blair during lunch today.

"Nate," Chuck said,anxiety shown in his tone. Even he can't believe it: Chuck Bass was in anxiety. "Remmember what I said? The last thing you want to do is make her suspicious. And believe me, giving her a surprise out of nowhere is going to make her suspicious."

Chuck was trying to stop him. He knew that once Nate starts to act all nice and sweet towards Blair, Blair will never wake up from the lies she kept telling herself. Blair was so convinced that Nate's her perfect prince. If Nate starts acting like one, she will never want to break up with him. And at this moment, that idea was so tempting.

The kiss last night, it was amazing. He had never felt this way before. He had kissed lots of girls, but the soft, warm lips that carassed his very own last night was nothing he had ever felt before. He can still remember every touch of her soft, smooth skin on his. And the worst (or the best) thing was that he can't forget every detail of it. It just kept circuling around in his head all night.

That's why all the more he couldn't allow Nate to go ahead and do this. He knew that deep inside, Blair was extremely regretful of her actions last night. And with Nate's 'surprise', Blair will definitely pretend nothing happened yesterday. In fact, he suspected that at this exact moment, Blair was at home, staring herself into the mirror, trying to convince herself that nothing special happened last night. It was what she's good at: Denial. However, Chuck deemed that there was nothing to regret. Sure, he's guilty for kissing his best friend's girlfriend, but he did not regret it. Nate cheated on Blair too, with her best friend. It's only justice, to say the very least. Besides, as much as Blair would deny, he saw no future for the 'perfect' couple. They don't match. They just don't. Nate could never understand Blair. Not the way he do. He can read every expression, every action Blair gave. Nate didn't even care. Nate's too obessed with Serena to see how perfect, how good of a girlfriend Blair was. It's like Serena had contaminated his every thought. There was just not enough room for Blair in his heart. It was just a matter of time before they break up. He was merely the catalyst of their break-up. IF they break up.

"I got to do it, Chuck." Nate said with a sigh. All cheerfulness from just now disappear in an instant. He shook his head, and gave a frustrated tug at his hair. "I can't do this anymore. The guilt is killing me. I need to do something to make up to her. To ease the guilt."

"I don't get you, Nathaniel." Chuck said,trying to convince him otherwise. "Why get so miserable in a relationship when you can play the field? Get surrounded by girls on magazines. It's every man's dream. And you can live the dream. One word from you, and I can get you any girl you want."

"You know that's not possible, Chuck. My parents will kill me if I break things off with her. Besides, I don't intend to. I mean, I think... I think I love her." Nate said with a strained voice.

"You do?" This is bad news. Really bad news.

"Yeah,I do. I... I don't know. Sometimes I think I do. Sometimes, I just don't know." Nate said, giving another frustrated tug at his haiir. The ends of his sandy blonde hair was now pointing outwards in a funny way.

"No offence, Nathaniel. But I think the one you love is someone tall. Big blonde hair? Party girl?"

"Serena? No, I don't _love _her. I mean, I like her. She's beautiful. But I think... Blair's the one."

_This is worse than I thought._

"Well, do you plan to tell her?" Chuck probed, getting a little panicked now. It was pathetic, he knows.

"No, of course not. It's not the right time. I still need to think. Look, I got to go now. I need to prepare for my 'suprise'." Nate gave a knowing wink and left. Leaving Chuck alone in his dust.

Chuck glared at the golden couple who was sitting down on the blanket, feeding each other grapes now. Oh, what a lovely sight that was. But no matter how perfect they may look on the outside, he knew deep down, they weren't compatible. Nevertheless, he couldn't stand the sight of them together anymore. So with one last look at the wide smile on Blair's face, he walked away.

Xoxo

Blair was happily sipping on her champagne, laughing together with Nate when she saw Michelle and Veronica looping hands around each other, walking up to her.

"Veronica? Michelle?" Blair was honestly surprised. They were supposed to be having lunch with Amber now. Why would they be here?

"Hey Blair." Veronica greeted and flopped down on a step beside Blair. Michelle sat on the other side of Veronica.

They acted as if they had had plans to have lunch all along. Blair and Nate exchanged a puzzled look. Well, clearly Nate knew nothing of this what she can only assumed was a pre-arranged lunch.

"Nate, is it? I'm Veronica." Veronica introduced herself and held out a hand. A small and polite smile was hung on her face.

"Nice to meet you." Nate said, and shook her hand, his smile minicked hers.

"I'm Michelle. Is that P&J? Can I have one?" Michelle said and grabbed one of the sandwiches that Nate had stacked up neatly in a pile.

"Er. Veronica? Michelle? What are you doing here?" Blair finally asked.

"We're here to join you for lunch. Duh." Veronica said, rolling her eyes.

"I had notice that. What I mean is, why aren't you with Amber and here crashing on my date?"

"Well, I think we got kicked out." Veronica shrugged.

Michelle just nodded her head in agreement, her mouth too full of the sandwich to speak.

"What!" Blair exclaimed. "Why?"

This was so sudden! The last thing she checked, everything was fine. Did Amber found out about Veronica's secret? Was that why she got kicked out?

"Well, it's a long story... And lesson's starting soon." Veronica said, checking her watch for the time.

Blair hesitated, considering the options she had. She could wait until the day's over to know what exactly happened. Or, she could ask them now, skipping out on her boring history lesson. After a full minute of silence, she finally made a decision.

Blair turned to Nate.

"Nate, I'm so sorry, but can we continue our date on another day?" Blair asked. It was a hard question to ask, considering the effort Nate had done today. But right now, she got more important things to do.

"Erm, sure." Nate said, standing up, brushing his hands on his jeans.

Blair followed suit, standing beside Nate.

"I really appreciate all these." Blair said softly, taking Nate's hands into hers. "Thank you."

Looking into his beautiful blue eyes, Blair leaned into and gave a gentle peck on his right cheek.

"I will call you later. Ok?" Blair whispered as she pulled back.

Nate nodded and left.

"So," Blair turned to the girls. "What's the story?"

* * *

**Reviews are a great motivation! **

**To: Partiegurl1000000**

**Hey, **

**Hope that you did find this new chapter interesting as well. :) **

**I'm glad you like the story. I normally update this story about once a week or so. So maybe it can give you a rough idea on when you can expect the story. **

**Thank you for the review. **

**xoxo**

**Janice**


	8. The Wrath of Blair Waldorf

**Hey. Next chapter's up. Enjoy. :) **

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Blair just can't _wait _to tell Chuck our well their plan went. It was far more successful than she had thought! They didn't even have to go to Step Two of the initiated plan. They can just go to Step Three- Ultimate Destruction. And that's her favorite part. She just can't _wait. _What was she going to do? What she had gotten out of Michelle the other night wasn't enough. She need something more vicious. _Maybe Chuck has ideas. He always had something up in his sleeves, _Blair thought as she hopped into the elevator leading her to his suite.

"Ding!" The elevator rang and Blair walked up to Chuck's suite.

"Chuck!" Blair shouted as she rang the bell.

After Veronica and Michelle had told her about the big fall out they had at lunch today, the first thing she wanted to do was to tell Chuck in person. She didn't know why, but she just wanted to. So she messaged Nate, asking him if he knew where Chuck was since Chuck didn't answer her calls and Nate had told her that Chuck had already left school. So she skipped her classes -a first time for Blair Waldorf- and hopped onto a cab. She didn't even _care _if this was going on her record. The excitement had completely overwhelmed her. Throughout the whole journey to the Plaza, she couldn't stop grinning. Knowing Chuck, he will probably be aloof and all about the news, but she just wanted him to be the first one to know.

"Chuck!" Blair shouted again as she pressed the bell furiously. She knew she was acting like a madwoman, but so be it.

After a whole two minutes spent between ringing the bell and shouting for him, the door finally opened and there it was - Chuck Bass wearing a red robe with a bottle of scotch in hand. He looked worn out, to say the very least. The dark, purple eye bags had formed under his eyes showed that he didn't have any good sleep last night.

"What do you want, Waldorf?" Chuck asked, clearly irritated.

Blair needed no invitation and walked past him, into the suite. It was a mess inside. Clothes and empty bottle of scotch were everywhere, and the room smelled heavily of scotch and pot. It shouldn't be this messy since the hotel sent people up to clean the room everyday. Blair could never understand how Chuck had done it.

"You looked like a mess." Blair stated, scrunching her nose at the odor. The room was badly in need of some air fresheners. "What's wrong with you and your problem with cleanliness?"

"What's wrong?" Chuck slammed the door shut. He couldn't believe she had the nerve to come to him and asked him what's wrong after she had done. "You mean aside from the fact that you are avoiding my calls and ignoring my messages after what happened last night? Oh, and let's not leave out the part where the sight of you and Archibald sucking faces upset my stomach."

_Shit, I forgot I was supposed to be avoiding him. _

Blair had rushed down straight from Constance and had, for a moment, forgot about what happened last night. Her mind had been so occupied with the victory. Not knowing what to say, Blair kept her back to Chuck. She was panicking and trying to think of a witty comeback when Chuck spoke again.

"Don't pretend it didn't happen, Blair. You and I both know that what happened last night didn't just happened."

"While I couldn't deny something did happened last night," Blair spun around, facing Chuck. She swallowed nervously. "There was nothing more to it. It was just a deal we made. We made deals all the time. Once the deal's over, there's no need to bring it up again, is there?"

"Is that the story you are trying to convince yourself?" Chuck asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"That is the cold, hard truth. I don't know what you are talking about." Blair insisted, folding her arms.

"The cold, hard truth is that we both know you felt a little something last night."

"I felt _nothing_ last night, Chuck." Blair said, glaring straight into Chuck. Lies came more convincing when you looked into the person's eyes. That's what years of experience had taught her.

"Really? Because that certainly didn't feel like it when you kissed me back." Chuck reminded her. "And the way you wrapped your legs around me..."

"Enough!" Blair yelled, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to block out the mental images that seemed to come back with Chuck's words. She certainly didn't need them when she was trying to forget what happened last night.

She opened her eyes again.

"Listen, Chuck Bass." Blair said, walking up towards him. "If you ever want to speak to me again, never, _ever, _talk about what happened last night again. And make sure no one else knows. Do you understand?" Blair asked, her voice hard. She wanted him to know that there was no room for discussions.

"Whatever makes you sleep at night, Waldorf." Chuck smirked.

Blair didn't even realise how close her face was to Chuck's until his warm breath hit her. It was the same as last night. But this time, instead of the wine, it was scotch. She wondered how it taste like on her tongue. From the looks of his eyes, he was obviously thinking about the same thing. She could tell. She could always tell what he was thinking from his eyes. It's almost like they could tell a story of their own. But she can't. She just can't. It's just wrong.

So Blair took a step back and averted her eyes from Chuck's. She gave an awkward cough. There was a minute of silence before Chuck spoke again.

"So, what brings Blair Waldorf to the lion's den?" Chuck asked, saunting towards the mini-bar. He poured himself a glass of scotch.

"You are not going to believe this." Blair clapped her hands together in excitement. The thrill from just now came rushing back and adrenaline gushed through her veins.

"So, do you have a plan?" Blair asked after updating Chuck, her eyes shone with anticipation.

"Since when did Blair Waldorf need my help in scheming? I thought you had a degree in that." Chuck asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Well, that may be true," Blair said, tucking a dark brown lock behind her ear. "But we always work our best masterpiece together. Just look at where Georgina is now."

Blair couldn't help but feel proud of herself just thinking about Chuck and her had done. Before they graduated, Chuck and Blair had came to a conclusion that Georgina can't go to the same high school, or in Chuck's case, the school just right next to his, with them. They can't stand the thought of seeing her for another 4 years. That girl meant trouble. Both Chuck and Blair had their own share of them over the years. Blair wanted Georgina as far away as possible from her best friend and Chuck was sick and tired of Georgina stalking him and scaring his whores away. She killed his entertainment. Georgina Sparks _had _to go. So they came up with a plan.

Blair spoke to Georgina's parents, whom she had acquaintance at one of the many Upper East Sides parties, and convinced them that a public school, instead of the prestigious Constance Billiard would be more appropriate for Georgina.

"It will help her to change for the better." Blair still remembered her saying. "It will make her meet more people and make more friends. Going to Constance Billiard will only encourage her to carry her –no offence, Mr. and Mrs. Sparks- spoilt, selfish ways. I really want Georgina to be that good person that I knew she is inside." Blair said as she looked into Georgina's mother's eyes with tears in her eyes.

Georgina's mother's maternal instinct came on immediately as she took Blair's hands into hers.

"Believe me, we want her to change too." She said, looking to her husband who gave a nod. "We will consider your suggestion."

That was what she said then but Blair knew they would take her suggestion. It was obvious that they had always liked Blair from the first time they seen her. How could they not? Blair was what every parent wanted- She got straight As, she was always polite and respectful and she was pretty too. Unfortunately, every parent but her own.

"Mrs. Sparks? Can I ask you for another favor?" Blair asked, using the soft spot Georgina's mother had for her to her full advantage.

"Of course, honey."

"Can you please don't tell Georgina about our meeting today? She already hates me. If she knew that I'm the one who suggested the idea, I'm afraid she won't understand my good intentions." Blair explained, willing her eyes to be filled with tears again.

"Of course." Mrs. Sparks agreed immediately without any hesitation.

Of course, when Georgina knew she was going to a public school, she went crazy. She tried to tell Serena that it was Blair who set her up, but she had no proof. And Serena hates to take sides between Georgina and Blair, so she refused to unless Georgina could prove it. So there was nothing Georgina could do, but went to that dirty, lowly school in the next fall. Not that she was attending the school a lot. From what Serena had said, Georgina had only attended one day of school before she bailed. Blair couldn't be more proud.

"Ah, the great Georgina Sparks. It was fun to watch her face when her parent announced the news." Chuck agreed.

"Serve her right for introducing Serena to all the colorful drugs." Blair scoffed.

"Alright, since you begged, I have an idea."

Blair was more alert than ever. She didn't even care if Chuck said she 'begged'.

"I'm all ears."

* * *

The next morning, Blair was up earlier than usual. She couldn't wait to rub it in in Amber's face. Thank god she didn't have to pretend that she liked her anymore. Blair wasn't sure if she could stop herself from hitting Amber silly with her purse if Amber continue to treat her as just another one of her lowly minions. Blair Waldorf was not a minion. She was a queen. The last one and a half week had been hell.

She chose her outfit extra carefully today. She need to look proper, but not boring; Attractive, but not slutty. It was all about balance, really. So she chose a Victoria Beckham Briseux dress that comes in royal purple. It seemed perfect. The dress screamed Blair Waldorf all over, and it's royal purple - the shade of purple worn by kings in medieval Europe. But of course, Blair was queen. But she still loved the idea that her color relates to royalty. It made her feels even more like one. And of course, there's the headband. She unconsciously touched the Eugenia Kim headband that was sitting on her hair. It was in purple, to match her dress. To top it off, on her feet were her new Christian Louboutin Neon Pump. With Christian Louboutin, you can never go wrong. Looking into the mirror, Blair decided that indeed, she looked like a queen. Happy with the results, Blair went down the stairs to have her breakfast.

On the table, Dorota had set out everything nicely for her. It looked like the kind of breakfast that a five stars hotel would serve. But of course, Dorota did it so much better. It was the usual stuff - a jug of orange juice, muffins, some pastries and her must-have fruits. What was unusual today was the small bouquet of peonies that lay there among her breakfast. The peonies were in colors of pink and white. The pink was a soft pink; it reminded Blair of the cotton candy she used to have when she was just a kid. And the white looked so pure, so untainted.

"Dorota?" Blair requested for her maid's attention.

"Yes Miss Blair?" Said Dorata as she hurried out of the kitchen.

"What is this?" Blair asked, eyeing the bouquet.

"Mr Chuck came this morning Miss Blair. Tell me to give you this." Dorota answered.

Chuck came? When did he start waking up this early? When they were both in middle school, Chuck normally strolled into the school around noon. Blair gave a small wave, dismissing Dorota and Dorota scurried to the kitchen again.

She then picked up the small bouquet. That's when she noticed the card underneath it. There was no mistake. On the card there it was, the word 'Blair' in the great Chuck Bass's boyish handwriting. Blair gave a small smile at the word. Chuck Bass hardly wrote anything and it had been a long time since she had seen his handwriting. Why would he? He didn't do his homework at all. In fact, the only time Chuck would pick up a pen was probably when he was signing his name when paying with his credit card. She then turned the card over.

_Show the school the queen you know you are. -Chuck_

Blair's heart swelled.

* * *

With Chuck's words in mind, Blair had been thinking of how she will make a great entrance in school today while on her way to school. Surely the whole school had known that the great Elite had split up yesterday by now. And, the key thing was, it was because of her. Freshman Blair Waldorf caused the hottest girls on campus, Amber and Veronica, to fall out. That was one hot topic. She was sure that everyone wanted to know why. Blair sighed happily thinking of how she would be in the spotlight once again. It's time to remind the people in school who Blair Waldorf was.

"Blair!" Veronica shouted, waving her arms in the air frantically.

Beside Veronica, was Michelle. Even from afar, Blair could notice the difference in their appearance today. Both of them were wearing headbands – like her. On Michelle was the headband that Blair had given her the other day. The day where they had became 'friends'. And on Veronica, was undoubtedly, a similar red headband to the one Blair was wearing on her first day of school. So she was already leading the fashion in school already. That was good. – First, fashion, and then the entire school population.

"Hey girls." Blair said with a smile as she approached. "Nice headbands."

"Thanks!" Michelle gushed.

"Alright, shall we go start a war?" Blair clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Oh yeah!" Veronica shouted in enthusiasm.

Blair grinned and led the way to the soon-to-be-ex queen.

* * *

"I said non-fat milk! What part of the 'non-fat' did you not understand! This is WHOLE fat milk, Penny! Do you want me to gain ten pounds just from drinking this?" Amber yelled, her morning must-have Starbucks cappuccino in her left hand.

Penny stood in front of Amber, like a child who was reprimanded by her mother. Her long brown hair was covering almost her entire face, but it did not cover the fact that she was in tears.

"Lighten up, will you?" Blair said as she walked into Amber's view with Veronica and Michelle walking on her left and right respectively.

Penny looked up at the voice.

"I believe it's those guys behind the counters that messed up. Right, Penny?" Blair said and gave a smile towards Penny, encouraging her to speak up.

Penny nodded and gave Blair a gladful look.

"I really did specifically request for non-fat milk." Penny explained.

"Penny!" Amber yelled again and glared at her worthless, lowly minion.

Penny immediately went back to looking down at the ground again.

Amber averted her attention to the petite brunette in front of her.

"What are you doing here, Blair?" Amber asked, narrowing her eyes at Blair and putting one hand on her hip.

"Just thought I will come say hi." Blair said, a smile on her face. It was one of those smiles she had when she was enjoying the way her plan had worked out. "Thought I will come and see how you are doing with half of your people on my side now."

"You can have those losers, Blair. I don't give a damn." Amber scoffed and rolled her emerald eyes. "I know what you want. But haven't you heard? What you want is often not what you get."

"You obviously haven't met Blair Waldorf yet. What Blair Waldorf wants, she gets." Blair said. Her voice was full of confidence.

"Blair, Blair, Blair." Amber shook her head and looked at Blair with fake sympathy in her eyes. "I know you are new here, but didn't those dummies tell you?" She jerked her head towards Veronica and Michelle. "Everything gets by me here."

"We'll see about that." Blair said, the smile on her face remained unfaltered. She showed no fear of Amber.

"Let's go, girls. First period is about to start." Blair said to Veronica and Michelle.

They nodded, and followed Blair down the hallway while Amber glared on.

_Let the games begin.

* * *

_

"Did you see her face? That feels so AWESOME!" Veronica shrieked, pulling on Blair's hand as she jumped up and down in the middle of the hallway.

Students rushing off to their first period classrooms were giving Veronica weird looks as they tried to get by them but no one dared to push them out of the way, or yell at them for being in the way because everyone knew who they were. And they certainly didn't want to mess with the new girl who dared to challenge Amber. And they certainly didn't want to mess up with Veronica, the biggest bitch in school aside from Amber herself.

Blair laughed as she watched Veronica jumped about, knocking into people occasionally. In some ways or another, Veronica actually reminded her of Serena. Except for the big blonde hair, and the attention-seeking part. With Serena, it was always so hard to outshine her, so hard to get people to notice her. But not with Veronica. Veronica knew her place. It had only been a short time since Blair really knew her, but she had noticed that when they were walking together, Veronica always walked one step behind her. When Blair talked, Veronica didn't interrupt or change the focus to herself. Veronica let Blair had her moments to shine – Even if Blair was a freshman and Veronica was a senior. Was it because Veronica was used to being a beta? Blair had no idea, but she truly liked Veronica.

"Yes Blair! Did you see the way she glared at us when we walked away? I swear I had never seen her glare at someone like that before. Not even at Eunice when Eunice lost her diamond stud earrings." Michelle gushed.

Blair grinned. She liked the idea that she could make Amber that mad.

"Listen, girls." Blair said.

Her words had an immediate effect. Veronica stopped jumping and stood firmly on the ground as she became serious. Both Veronica and Michelle gave Blair their full attention.

Blair was more than pleased. She could get used to this.

"I need you to do something." Blair said with a smirk.

_Blair is going to make sure that Amber will never forget the wrath of Blair Waldorf.

* * *

_

**Any idea what Blair is going to do? Let me know what you think!**

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**Thank you. :)**


	9. Sweet dreams

**A/N: Hi! Next chapter's up! **

**Chapter 9**

* * *

There it was, Rachel Field, sitting alone by herself in the cafeteria, reading a book. If you looked at her closely, you will find that Rachel was quite pretty. She had tied her long brown wavy hair into a messy bun today, leaving a few strands of hair framing her face. Behind those glasses, she had eyes that were of a blue so light, it reminds people of aquamarine. Even though she only had a touch of mascara and lip-gloss, she still looked good. She didn't need any extra make-up. In fact, she could be very well be one of the prettiest girls in school if she had dressed up good. Too bad she had an asshole boyfriend.

"Hi. Rachel right?" Veronica asked as she scoot right next to Rachel. Michelle took the seat on the other side of Rachel.

On normal days, Veronica and Michelle wouldn't even step into the cafeteria. The cafeteria was just so noisy, so full of wannabes, so… _below them. _But it was not a normal day. Today, they were on a mission.

Behind her glasses, Rachel's eyes widened as she looked to her left and then her right, as if trying to figure out why the hell would two of the most popular girls in school doing here.

Veronica raised her eyebrow when Rachel did not speak. She had been waiting for her reply.

"Oh. Err, yeah. I'm Rachel." Rachel finally found her voice. "How do you know my name?"

Veronica laughed.

"Does it matter, sweetie? You just have to know that I know things. A _lot _of things." Veronica smirked and gave Rachel a knowing look.

"What.. What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, I don't know. We just know things. Things like where your boyfriend is at this exact moment, perhaps." Michelle said casually as she twirled her hair around her finger.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked again, her eyebrows knitting together. "Lucas is at the school gym. He always worked out during lunch every Wednesday."

"Is he?" Veronica asked again.

"Yeah! That's what he had said." Rachel exclaimed.

"Oh, sweetie. You are so naïve." Veronica said as she looked at Rachel with sympathy in her eyes.

"That's what he _wants _you to think." Michelle explained. "He knew if he said that, you would never try and catch him at the gym because you hate the odor in the gym."

"The truth is, he's not at the gym. Do you really think he needed the extra work-out?" Veronica continued.

"What are you saying?" Rachel asked again, her voice was full of wary.

"What I'm saying is, perhaps you may want to check out the boys' locker room right now. There's still half an hour left for lunch. If you hurry, you may still catch them with their clothes on. You don't want to see _too much_, do you?" Veronica said, giving her much more hints than required. If Rachel still didn't get it, then she's probably the dumbest girl on campus.

Rachel remained quiet for a while, taking the information in. Over her head, Veronica smirked at Michelle.

"After you've seen what you needed to see, you may want to come back to us. We can help you get your revenge." Veronica said as she stood up.

Michelle followed the cue and stood up as well. They were starting to walk away when Rachel stopped them.

"Wait!"

Veronica and Michelle turned around.

"Why do you tell me all these?"

Veronica shrugged.

"We are girls, we looked out for each other. That's what we do."

"Thank you." Rachel said softly.

Veronica merely nodded and said, "You know where to find us."

They then left the cafeteria, leaving Rachel too much information to absorb, and too little time to think.

_Where R U? U will miss out the fun! –B_

Blair was texting Serena as she sat in her living room with Michelle and Veronica.

"Do you think really think she will come to us?" Michelle asked. She had no idea why Blair was so confident that Rachel would. Michelle wasn't even sure that Rachel would take Veronica and her words for real, yet Blair was already sitting there, sipping martinis with Veronica, waiting for Rachel.

Blair rolled her eyes. _That girl got so much to learn. _Her blackberry then vibrated, signaling a message from Serena.

_I'm with G. Can't talk, gotta party! –S_

Blair rolled her eyes at her phone. Serena was always with Georgina recently, she hardly sees her anymore. Not even in school. She could tell that damage control is going to be needed soon. She always had to pull Serena from Georgina once in a while so that Serena don't lose herself in drugs. It was tiring to haunt her down and pulled her away from Georgina, but she knew she had to do it. She can't let her best friend get into a bigger mess than she was already in. Perhaps she should step in this weekend.

"Don't worry, Mich! Didn't you see her eyes? She believed us. I could tell. Besides, I'm sure she already noticed the difference in Lucas. She probably just needed someone to give her a push. Girls have hunches, you know? Especially when it comes to the boyfriend area." Veronica assured Michelle.

_Veronica had no idea how right she was, _Blair thought as she sipped on her martini quietly. What Veronica had said brought her back to her relationship with Nate. She had always known Nate liked Serena. A little too much, maybe. But she knew that Nate like her too. After all, they had been dating for a few months now. But did Nate love her? She wasn't confident enough to say yes, he did. And that brought her to the next question. Did she love Nate? If she did, why did she feel the way she felt that night? That night when she was kissing Chuck. And why did she want to kiss him again?

_Stop it! _Blair shook her head as she commanded herself. She felt absolute nothing that night. She had to, _must _believe in that.

"Ding!" The elevator rang, signaling a visitor.

Blair and Veronica gave each other a knowing look and smirked.

"Why would he hook up with that redhead bitch?" Rachel cried as she walked out of the elevator.

Dorota immediately went up to Rachel, offering her a martini on a tray. Rachel took it and finished it in one gulp. Dorota took the empty glass from her and offered to take her coat.

"I can't believe he's cheating on me with that bitch!" Rachel cried again as Dorota disappeared into the coats closet with her coat.

"I know, sweetie. Come, sit here." Blair patted the spot next to her and Rachel flopped down right next to her.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that." Blair said as she put on her best sympathy expression.

Rachel began to sob.

"Why would he do that? We had been dating for a year and a half now. I really think he's the one you know." Rachel sobs as she poured her heart out to the three people whom she barely knows.

Blair passed her a Kleenex.

"Because he's a jackass, that's why!" Veronica couldn't help, but cried out.

Rachel continued to sob as Blair patted her back as an attempt to make her feel better.

"Did they see you?" Blair asked.

Rachel shook her head. "They were too caught up in each other."

Blair nodded as she considered the situation. If Amber didn't know Rachel were on their side, it would be the best. The attack would totally caught her off guard.

"I really want to make that bitch suffer." Rachel said as she looked up to Blair's eyes. "Will you help me?"

Rachel's lips trembled slightly as she asked the question Blair had been waiting to hear all night.

"Of course. We will _all _help you."

* * *

The coming Saturday, Blair turned down Veronica and Michelle's invitation to a shopping spree around Manhattan because she had something more important to do. And no, it's the Queen Bee project. Her best friend had been missing for three days now. Serena had not been going home since three days ago and she didn't reply Blair's messages nor answered Blair's calls ever since the night Rachel had came to see her. Lily hadn't seen her in a week. It was time to step in.

Ever since ten in the morning, Blair had been searching bars after bars, clubs after clubs, but there was no sign of Serena. Normally, she would found Serena passed out in one of the many bars in New York City, too drunk to move. Of course, despite the fact that Serena was nearly always with Georgina the night before, Georgina would not be found with her in the morning. Georgina probably had ran off with a random cute guy the night before, leaving a too-drunk Serena to save her own ass.

"Have you seen a blonde last night? She is about three inches taller than me and has supermodel kind of legs. Her name is Serena." Blair asked the man standing behind the bar. He looked barely awake.

"Do you have any idea how many blondes were in here last night? All of them looked like a model, how do I know which one was your friend?" The guy rebutted.

"Trust me, she would have leave an impression on you if you'd seen her." Blair said. That was true. Every guy who met Serena would remember her. If they were brave enough, they would even introduce themselves and ask for her name.

"In that case, sorry. I didn't meet her." The guy replied and turned his back to Blair. It was obvious that he didn't want to entertain Blair anymore.

Blair sighed. She would be offended by his actions given any other times, but she was really getting worried now. Where was Serena? This was already the last bar on her list. What was she going to do now?

She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It was already 3 in the afternoon. She had spent half a day trying to look for Serena. If she hadn't find Serena by night, she knew Serena would go off to another bar to continue her crazy night. She had to act fast.

Blair gave a sigh. She didn't really want to do this, especially since she was determined to avoid him as much as possible, but she had to. It was for Serena. Everything just had to be push aside. So she pressed the numbers she knew by heart and put her phone to her ear.

"Chuck? I need your help."

* * *

Wasn't Chuck's PI one of the best in New York? At least, that's what Chuck claimed. Then was Serena not here yet? It had been one and a half hour ever since Blair had called Chuck. Knowing that Blair was really worried for Serena, Chuck had assured her that Serena would be brought to her penthouse in the shortest time possible. Chuck had told Blair to simply wait in her penthouse and expect Serena soon. And Blair did just that.

Basshole, she should never have trusted him. She should have known that Chuck Bass could not be trusted, not matter how assuring and comforting he sounded over the phone.

Blair continued pacing up and down outside the elevator. She wanted to wait by the elevator so that once Serena was here, she would know.

Just then, the elevator rang.

_Finally! _Blair's heart jumped with joy.

Blair turned to face the elevator and waited in anticipation for her visitors. The elevator doors then opened, revealing Chuck carrying Serena bridal-style. Serena was passed out, as expected, and she looked like she didn't showered for days. Her hair was in knots and accompanying her was a heavy odor of liquor.

Blair rushed towards Serena at once. She patted Serena's cheeks. "S? Are you ok?"

"Don't bother." Chuck said as he advanced towards Blair's room. Blair followed him. "I tried that on the way here. She's completely passed out. She must have taken some drugs."

"Where did you find her?" Blair inquired curiously. She at least looked into thirty bars and she still couldn't find Serena. Where the hell had she been hiding?

They had approached the door and Blair opened the door for Chuck.

"Underground club. It was supposed to be meant for celebrities only. I don't know how the hell did Georgina managed to bring her in." Chuck said as he laid Serena down on Blair's bed.

Blair raised an eyebrow. "_You _get in there just fine too."

It was Chuck's turn to raise his eyebrow.

"I'm Chuck Bass." He said, as if Blair was ridiculous for doubting his capabilities.

Blair had to laugh at that. She would never admit it out loud to him, or anyone for that matter, but she loved the way he said that. She loved the confidence he had when he said that. It was as if being Chuck Bass was more than enough. She wished one day, she could have that confidence. She wished she believed that being Blair Waldorf was more than enough. Sometimes, she felt like it was never enough to be just her. She had to several people at one time. She had to be the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend. She just _had _to be. It was stressful, to say the very least. And she admired Chuck for being so comfortable in his own skin. Maybe it was because Chuck thought no one had any expectations of him. Nevertheless, she just loved the way he said it. Not that she would tell him. _Never_.

Blair pushed that thought away from her mind and forced herself to focus on Serena. Today was all about Serena, she reminded herself. Blair pulled the covers over Serena and laid herself on the middle of the bed, on Serena's right. She pushed some of Serena's hair out of her face and made sure Serena was comfortable.

"You really are a good friend, Blair." Chuck said softly. He had been looking at the best friends all along.

Blair looked up, her eyes meeting his dark ones. A warm surge of emotions rushed through her heart and she could feel herself blushing. She had no idea what those emotions were, but she loved it. Embarrassed, she lowered her head and look at Serena's beautiful sleeping face.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

There was silence for a while.

"You are a good person too, Chuck." Blair finally said."I know you think you are not, but you are. We all know that."

"We?" Chuck questioned.

Blair nodded and looked into Chuck's eyes again.

"We. Nate knows that, I know that and Serena knows that too. She may look as if she hates you, but she really don't." Blair said.

Chuck nodded and looked down, as if in thoughts. Blair could tell that he didn't believe in most of it, at least not the part where he was a good man, but she didn't want to force that idea on him.

"Do you want to stay the night?" Blair asked. He had helped a lot tonight. She had to offer him that right? Blair Waldorf was a good host, and good hosts offer people a bed to sleep in after a hard day of work.

Chuck looked up in surprise at Blair's question. Did Blair just offer him to stay for the night?

"With your clothes on, of course." Blair joked.

Chuck smiled, a rare one for him.

"You can share a bed with us." Blair offered, shifting towards Serena, making more space for Chuck on the bed. "Just like the old days." Blair gave a small smile towards Chuck.

Before all the drama started, before everything got all messed up, Nate, Chuck, Serena and Blair used to have sleepovers all the time at Blair's penthouse. Even though Blair had enough guest rooms for everyone, they would always sleep together on one bed. They would all say that they were too fatigued to walk across the hallway to the guest rooms, but Blair believed that in each and every one of their young hearts, they all liked the feeling of being together. When they slept together at night, it felt so warm, so safe. It was as if nothing bad could happen because they would protect one another. But that was a long time ago.

"Two woman and just one Chuck Bass. I liked it." Chuck smirked as he made his way to the bed.

Blair rolled her eyes at his comment. Chuck would always be Chuck.

Chuck took off his shoes and placed them at the side of the bed before climbing into bed.

"Night, Bass." Blair said as she turned off the lamp at the side of her bed.

"Night, Waldorf." Chuck replied.

So there it was - Serena sleeping blissfully on the left side of the bed, Blair in the middle, and Chuck Bass on the right side of the bed. The tension was unimaginable as Chuck and Blair remained in silent. They both stared up at the ceiling, listening to Serena's even breathing, waiting for sleep to sneak up on them.

Just as Blair thought that Chuck had fallen asleep, she felt something warm on her hand. It was Chuck. Chuck's fingers intertwined themselves with Blair's under the covers. Blair did not protest. Instead, she held on tightly, relishing the warmth of his hand.

She swore she had heard Chuck's voice just before she had fallen asleep. She swore she had heard him said 'Sweet dreams, Blair". But it must be a dream, because she never heard Chuck used that kind of tone with anyone. If it was a dream, then it was indeed, a sweet dream.

* * *

**I could have wrote more, but I liked to end off with something sweet. Hope you guys don't mind. :) **

**Oh, and thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Please keep them going! They made my day! :)**

**To: A **

**Thank you! Sorry for taking so long to update, but I hope you like this chapter as well. :) **

**xoxo**

**Janice**

**To: Partiegurl100000**

**I'm glad you are still loving the story! And thank you so much for reviewing once again. It made my day. :) **

**xoxo**

**Janice**

**To: Charlotte**

**I doubt I can win a contest with this, cause there are so many awesome writers out there, but I'm flattered by your review. Haha. Thank you so much for the sweet review! :) **

**xoxo**

** Janice **


	10. It will never happen

**A/N: Hey everybody. Sorry for the long wait. School work gets in the way and I didn't have as much time as before to write. It will get better though, I promise. :) Anyway, hope you like this chapter. Lots of emotions in this one. **

**Chapter 10**

* * *

The next morning, Blair had woken up with Chuck's hand still intertwined with hers. She can't help, but smiled at that. A glance to her left and she saw that Chuck's eyes were still closed. Blair gently shifted to lean on her side so that she was face to face to Chuck. It had been a long time since she had looked at him from such a short distance. Ever since Chuck had slept with Georgina in middle school, Blair made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him and had stayed as far away from him as possible, treating him as if he was a pest. She hadn't noticed how his features had matured over the past year. His nose seemed to have grown taller, his eyebrows seemed to be in a darker brown, and even his eyelashes seemed to be longer. She had to admit, he was really handsome. That may be why girls fall for him all the time. Not that she was falling for him. Of course not. Because that would be just_ ridiculous._ But looking at him right now…It was hard to convince herself to stay away from him. Blair then raised her free hand, moving it towards Chuck. Using her finger, she slowly traced the bridge of his nose as she studied his face like she studied a piece of her favorite art. She was fascinated. Just as her finger was reaching the tip of his nose, Chuck's eyes flew open.

Blair gasped and dropped her hand immediately. She didn't mean for Chuck to know that she had been watching him sleep. Damn it, had he been awake all this time? She lowered her eyes and turned her face away from him, embarrassed to be caught in the act. But Chuck wouldn't allow it. Chuck tipped Blair's chin up and forced her to look him in the eye. He said nothing and simply stared into her doe brown eyes. It was as if he was looking at something beautiful in her eyes.

No words were exchanged for a whole five minutes. They just lay there, their gazes locked.

"Brr… Brr…" Blair's Blackberry vibrated on the night stand.

The vibration of her Blackberry brought Blair back to reality. Blair broke off her gaze with Chuck immediately.

"What am I doing?" Blair chided herself silently as she looked down at her fingers.

Blair couldn't see what Chuck was doing, but she hoped that he wasn't looking at her. She didn't trust herself to not blush like a little girl.

"Brr…Brr.." The Blackberry continued to vibrate.

"I should probably get that…" Blair muttered to herself as she leaned over Serena and reached for her phone. To her dismay, it was Nate calling. For a moment, Blair did not know whether she should answer it. She probably _should _answer it, but somehow, she felt like she shouldn't. So she just stared at the screen.

"Is it Nathaniel calling?" Chuck asked. He had probably guessed as much from Blair's expression.

Blair nodded. The phone was still vibrating. "Should I answer that?" Blair debated with herself. There's this voice inside her head that shouted "No!". Yet, on the other hand… she had not been talk to Nate yesterday. They used to talk everyday. She had to answer it.

"Be quiet." Blair commanded Chuck.

Chuck merely shrugged.

Blair then sat up straight and pressed the little green button on her phone.

"Good morning." Blair greeted, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Hey, good morning." Nate said. There was a voice in his smile. "Where were you yesterday? I dropped by your house and you weren't there."

_Shit!_ Did he saw Chuck? Probably not. He said I wasn't home when he was here and Chuck arrived after I was home. So he probably didn't see Chuck. Right?

"Really? When were you here?" Blair asked, trying not to sound nervous, or worse, suspicious.

Blair bit down on her lips nervously as she wait for Nate's reply.

"Around noon, I guess. I was there to take you for lunch."

Blair heaved a sigh of relief inside. Chuck was only here around four to five, so Nate probably didn't see Chuck. Now that she thought about it, what was so wrong about Chuck coming over here anyway? Weren't they all _friends? _Besides, Chuck was bringing Serena over when he came. Even if Nate bumped into Chuck outside of her building, it wouldn't look suspicious. Not that there was anything to be suspicious of, of course.

Blair then noticed that Chuck was raising his eyebrows at her, as if to ask "What's going on?". Blair ignored and turned away from him.

"I'm so sorry. I was out all day looking for Serena. She hasn't been home for days." Blair explained.

"Oh. Is she ok?"

Nate didn't ask why Serena hasn't been home, neither did he ask where was Serena. He knew. They all knew. Serena had a problem of being a little too crazy sometimes. And Blair was always the one pulling Serena back. Over the years, it had become a cycle. Serena gets a little too crazy, she went over board, Blair looked for her, pulled her away from Georgina, told her off and Serena was under control for a few weeks. Then Serena couldn't stand the "boring life", claimed she needed some excitement and start the cycle all over again.

"Yeah. She's still sleeping now though. I will bring her to Lily once she's awake."

"Do you think you can get that done by one? I was hoping we could have lunch together today. You know, make up for yesterday." Nate asked, sounding hopeful.

Blair bit her lip and glanced at the time. It was eight in the morning now.

_Should I have lunch with him? But… _Blair glanced behind her back and saw that Chuck had been looking at her the entire time with an unreadable expression on his face. Basshole didn't even try to cover the fact that he had been eavesdropping. Blair turned away from Chuck again.

"I don't think so.. I don't know what time will Serena wake up. She was really knocked out when I found her."

Blair didn't mention that Chuck was the one who found Serena. Nate didn't need to know the details. And Serena really _was _knocked out when Blair saw her.

"How about dinner?" Nate asked again.

Blair can't help but bit down on her lips again. She really needs to get rid of that bad habit.

"Fine." She finally said. Nate sounded so eager, so hopeful that she couldn't let him down.

"Great! I will pick you up at eight." Nate said, clearly happy with Blair's answer.

"Ok. See you later." Blair said and hung up.

She remained to back-faced Chuck. She didn't know what to say. Having a dinner with your boyfriend was supposed to be the most natural thing in the world. If so, why did she feel like she was doing Chuck wrong?

"Are you meeting Nathanial later?" Chuck broke the silence.

That was the question she was afraid was. Should she just say yes? But she didn't want to let Chuck know that she had a date with Nate later. She didn't know why, but she just didn't want to. Sure, Chuck would find out eventually. But he needn't to know _now, _right?

"That's none of your business, Bass." Blair said, getting out from the bed.

"Are you meeting Nathanial later?" Chuck pressed on.

Blair ignored Chuck and went over to the side of the bed to check on Serena. She was still deeply asleep. What kind of drugs had she been taking?

"Blair!" Chuck shouted in frustration.

"Not so loud, Chuck! Serena is still sleeping!" Blair whispered, giving him a deadly glare and then looked down at Serena again. Thank god she's still sound asleep.

Chuck rolled his eyes. He didn't give a damn about the blonde.

"Let's talk outside." Blair suggested and headed for the door. Chuck followed.

Blair closed the door behind her softly.

"What do you want, Chuck." Blair hissed.

"I want to know if you are meeting Nathanial later! Is that a difficult question?" Chuck asked, his face twisted in frustration.

Blair really didn't want to answer the question but she could tell that Chuck wasn't going to give up until he had his answer.

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes. Nate and I are having dinner together tonight." Blair said, folding her arms across her chest.

Chuck glared at her.

"Are we really doing this, Blair?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Blair insisted, she could feel her jaws locking already.

"This!" Chuck gave a wave of his arm. "Denial! You felt something for me. I can see them in your eyes. Why are you still going out with Nate and acting like you couldn't feel this… this _thing _between us?"

For once, Blair was speechless. Why did Chuck have to know her so well? She probably should deny, saying that she felt nothing for him. But wouldn't that be denial? Just like what he said? If she didn't feel anything for him, what did the urge to kiss him that other night meant? If she didn't feel anything for him, why did she smile just minutes ago when she woke up to saw his hand in hers? If she didn't feel anything for him, why was her heart tugging at her at this exact moment as she looked at him?

She sighed, letting her arms dropped to her sides and dropping the false front. There was no point in lying to him again. He will see right through it and called her out on it.

"Do you feel the same way?" Blair asked the one question she had been dying to ask as she looked up to his eyes.

Chuck averted his eyes away from hers immediately.

There was a moment of silence as Blair waited for his answer.

"I… I don't know." Chuck finally said, looking into Blair's eyes again.

The words rang through her ears as Blair felt her tears coming up in her eyes. She felt like her hopes were crashed and there was this huge wave of sorrow that overwhelmed her. The tears in her eyes stung, but she refused to let them fall.

"Maybe that's why this _thing _between us will never happen." Blair spat.

Blair then pushed past him and went into her room, slamming the door behind her.

Once inside, Blair finally allowed her tears to fall. Really, what was she expecting? She shouldn't have asked him that question. He was Chuck Bass, for god's sake. He was a step beyond womanizer. Did she really expect him to feel something for her? Yes, unfortunately, she did. She knew Chuck was right. She did feel something for him. The kiss the other day… it was amazing. It was different from what she had with Nate. And ever since then, Chuck had helped her a lot. That was a lot better than Nate, who can't seem to understand the one thing that was so important to her. Chuck.., he understood. He really did. And that made her felt… touched. It reached her heart deeper than it should. Chuck knew how important being Queen was to her and he had helped her slowly, but surely achieving the status. She can't believe she had hope for him.

"Blair?" Serena groaned from her spot in Blair's bed. Her head was pounding from all the alcohol last night. The hot pink tablets Georgina gave her might have helped in the intensifying pain she was suffering now.

"Serena?" Blair wiped away her tears with the back of her hands.

She walked over to Serena.

"Are you ok?" Blair asked, putting a pillow behind Serena's back, helping her sit up.

"My head's killing me." Serena let out another groan again.

Blair then passed her the glass of water and the two tablets of aspirin she had ready from the day before. Serena took it, popped the tablets into her mouth and downed it with water. She then closed her eyes and rested her head against the pillow, waiting for the aspirin to take its effects. Once she felt the pain beginning to subside, she opened her eyes. That's when she noticed the tears-strained cheeks.

"Blair? Did you just cried?" Serena asked with concern.

"No." Blair answered instantly. But her eyes, which were still red from the crying just now, gave the game away.

"Don't lie to me, Blair." Serena said and pulled her on the bed so that Blair was sitting on the bed next to me. "Tell me."

Blair sighed. Was there any use in lying to Serena? Serena would know if she was lying to her. Serena knew her better than herself. In fact, Serena was the person who knew her best, aside from Chuck. Besides, Serena's her best friend. She's like a sister she never had. She could tell Serena anything right?

"Blair." Serena pressed on, searching Blair's face for clues of what's going on.

"I kissed Chuck." Blair confessed in a small voice.

"What?" Serena can't help but blurted.

"I know. It's hard to believe. Even _I _can't believe that. It was a deal we made." Blair explained. "He helped me to get Veronica on my side and I kissed him. It was a one-time thing. It will never happen again."

At least, she hoped it doesn't happen again. She can never trust herself when she's around him and she really didn't want to betray Nate.

"I can't believe you kiss him," Serena said, shaking her blonde mane around her head. "What kind of a deal was that? Why didn't you come to me?"

"You said you don't want to help! And Nate obviously didn't care. I _needed _someone to help me. And he offered. So…" Blair drawled, looking away from Serena as the guilt of kissing Chuck came rushing back to her.

"What about Nate? Will he tell Nate? You know Chuck isn't the most trust-worthy person in the world." Serena asked, her large blue eyes filled with concern for the golden couple.

"He wouldn't. Nate's his best friend. You know how Chuck feels about Nate." Blair said confidently. Chuck wouldn't tell. She _knew _he wouldn't.

Serena gave a small nod hesitantly. That was true. Chuck treasured his friendship with Nate a lot.

"Is that why you cried? Because you regretted kissing him?" Serena asked again.

Blair opened her mouth, wanting to say 'Yes', but then closed it again. That wasn't the truth, and she didn't want to lie to Serena. She hadn't really thought about it. She knew she felt guilt for kissing Chuck, but did she regret it? Not really, considering how much she had wanted to kiss him again the other night in his suite. If she had regretted it, why would she want to kiss him again? Not knowing whether to tell the truth, she looked away from Serena and fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

"What is it, Blair? You can tell me anything. You know that, right?" Serena said, with true concern in her voice. She eyed at Blair. She really looked very suspicious right now.

Blair then looked into Serena's eyes again.

"Serena, I…" Blair hesitated. How do you explain something like this? I am physically attracted to Chuck? That the kiss was the best kiss she had? That she cried because Chuck's answer was not what she wanted? Of course she couldn't say that. Serena wouldn't understand. She knew Serena wouldn't.

There was no other choice. She had to lie.

"Yes," Blair finally said. "I'm so afraid Nate would know, that _anyone_ would know."

She wasn't _completely_ lying. That part was true.

"Oh, B. Don't worry. Like you said, Chuck wouldn't tell. And I wouldn't tell. It will just be a secret between us, ok?" Serena tried to comfort her.

Blair nodded and fiddled with the hem of her skirt again. She felt guilty for lying to Serena. She was her best friend. But it was for the best. Serena will be better off not knowing how twisted her best friend was.

"Hey, don't worry, alright?" Serena took Blair's silence as her worrying. "Here, I can pinky swear with you. I will make sure that nothing gets out."

Serena then offered her last finger.

Blair laughed at that.

"What are we? Six?" Blair laughed again.

"Come on! You used to love pinky swears!" Serena exclaimed, her lips now in a pretty pout.

"Fine." Blair gave in and playfully rolled her eyes.

Blair hooked her last finger with Serena's.

"Pinky swear." Serena said with a grin on her face.

"Pinky swear." Blair repeated, her grin mimicking Serena's.

The two best friends then leaned in for a hug.

* * *

Outside, Chuck was leaning against the door, listening to Blair's sobs.

Great. He made her cry.

Chuck then closed his eyes, his hands were now in fists as he continued to listen to her sobs. He hated to make her cry, and he really didn't want to make her cry.

Any other guy would probably rush in, desperate to comfort Blair, if they were in his shoes. But Chuck couldn't. How could he when he didn't know how to make her feel better? He wished he could tell her that he felt the same way about her. But the thing was, he honestly didn't know how he felt about her. He didn't even know if Chuck Bass was capable of emotions. And he didn't want to lie to her and said yes, he felt the same way because he could never lie to Blair.

He just wished Blair could stop crying.

"Blair?" Chuck heard Serena called out.

Good, the blonde's awake now. She should know how to cheer Blair up. If anyone could cheer Blair up, it was Serena.

Chuck leaned against the door and continued to listen on to their conversation.

"I kissed Chuck." He heard Blair confessed.

Chuck involuntarily took in a sharp breath. He never thought Blair would tell Serena, best friends or not.

"I know. It's hard to believe. Even _I _can't believe that. It was a deal we made. He helped me to get Veronica on my side and I kissed him. It was a one-time thing. It will never happen again."

_It will never happen again? _

What made Blair so sure about that? Weren't they just lying on her bed ten minutes ago, staring into each other's eyes? If not for the _interruption, _he was sure that they would have kissed. Even if Serena was right beside Blair, knocked out like a dead log.

"What about Nate? Will he tell Nate? You know Chuck isn't the most trust-worthy person in the world."

Trust Serena to be concerned about Nathaniel at this point of time. Chuck rolled his eyes.

"He wouldn't. Nate's his best friend. You know how Chuck feels about Nate."

Chuck couldn't help but smiled at that. Blair sounded so confident. Blair really did know him well. He wouldn't have told anyone because he wouldn't want to spoil his relationship with Nate. Blair _trusted _him to not to say a thing.

"Is that why you cried? Because you regretted kissing Chuck?"

Chuck held his breath as he waited for Blair's reply. It was a good one minute before Blair replied.

"Yes. I'm so afraid Nate would know, that _anyone_ would know."

So Blair really regretted kissing him.

Feeling a sudden tightening in his chest, Chuck left. He didn't want to hear the rest of the conversation anymore.

* * *

"Is Serena ok?" Blair asked when Lily walked into the room.

Lily had made Blair wait in the living room while she and Serena went into Serena's room. Blair had guessed that Lily wanted to talk to Serena in private, so she had stayed in the living room as told, and gave the mother and daughter a moment alone.

"Yes, of course. She's sleeping now," Lily replied with a small smile. "Thank you so much, Blair. I don't know what to do without you. Serena had been… difficult for the past few days."

"You're welcome, Lily." Blair replied, a polite smile on her lips.

She then hesitated for a while before opening her mouth again.

"Actually, I have a favor to ask of you."

"No need to be so formal with me, Blair. There's no 'favor' between us. If you need anything, just ask. You're like sisters with Serena, and that makes you my daughter." Lily said as she placed a hand on Blair's arm, a warm smile on her face.

Blair could already feel her smile getting bigger.

"Great."

* * *

**Please review if you like it. :)**

**To: GG4ever**

**Thank you for the review. Hope I didn't make you wait too long. :)**

**xoxo**

**Janice**

**To:Partiegurl100000**

**Thank you for the wonderful review. I'm always glad that someone thinks that my story is good. Sorry that I couldn't update as fast as I used to, but I will try.**

**Hope you like this chapter as well. :)**

**xoxo**

**Janice**


	11. Protective Blair

**A/N: Hey, sorry for the long wait. Life has been hectic and I don't have much spare time to write. Thankfully, the worst is over and updates will be more prompt in the future. At least, I hope so. :)**

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Blair flopped down on her back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She had just returned from her dinner with Nate and she was _exhausted. _All night long she was listening to Nate talk about the last family outing he had at the Van der Bit, giving a nod at appropriate times and an 'hmmm' occasionally. Normally, she loved to hear all about the interesting things that were going on in the Van der Bilt's house but tonight, she only had one thing on her mind.

No matter what she did, she couldn't stop the scenes from replaying itself in her head.

_"Do you feel the same way?"_

_"I… I don't know."_

_"Maybe that's why this_ thing _between us will never happen."_

Blair shut her eye tight as the scene replayed in her mind again. Was that it? They were just going to go back to their old ways and only speak to each other when necessary? Was she just going to treat him a pest and ignored the whatever feelings she felt? She didn't know. She was at a loss as to what to do. What she did know was that she couldn't go to him first. He had to come to her. Her pride wouldn't allow it.

Blair then turned over and covered herself with her satin sheets. She didn't care if she hadn't change or showered. She just wanted to sleep. Hopefully, when she woke up, she will realize that it was just a nightmare.

* * *

Unfortunately (or fortunately), she didn't have time to think it through the next day. She had a Queen to take down, a scheme to hatch, and minions to boss about.

"Did you make me proud?" Blair asked the new minion, a smile plastered on her face as she walked into the room where her minions were all sitting up straight in their chairs.

The minions were all gathered in Blair's house this afternoon for a very important meeting. Blair couldn't be more excited about their first major sabotage. Really, Amber should be _honored _to be their first victim_._

Rachel nodded in reply to Blair's question.

Blair had noticed the change in Rachel's choice of attire. Gone were the boring glasses and limp hair. Today, Rachel had actually made an effort. She had put on contact lens, blow-dried her hair, put on a dress and had even put on make-up. She actually looked pretty good. Not that Blair was going to tell her that though. She didn't want to the compliments to go up to her pretty head.

"Yes, I got it all done while he was in the bathroom. I hid it behind his books –which I knew he wouldn't touch – and it will give us a good view of his bed." Rachel gushed.

She can't help but felt proud at herself for doing such a great job. Not to mention that she was getting closer to getting her revenge. Amber would never see it coming.

"Michelle." Blair gave a wave of her hand.

Michelle brought the laptop that she was carrying to Blair immediately. Veronica and Rachel crowded around the laptop immediately, all trying to get a peek at the screen.

On the screen, was a view of Luke's room. Rachel was right: The camera had a great angle. Blair was pretty sure that it would capture all the actions.

"You did good, Rachel." Blair said and gave a small nod.

"Thanks." Rachel replied and actually blushed.

"It was a good thing you didn't break up with him yet. That saved us a lot of troubles of breaking into his house." Veronica added.

"It was such a torture though." Rachel rolled her eyes at the thought of it. "It was so frustrating and irritating having to pretend that I'm clueless. I _know _he's cheating on me, yet I can't call him out. Every time he told me he needs to go to some family dinner, I _know _he's actually hooking out with _her. _It's so obvious. I have no idea why I didn't realize that before."

"Just bear with it. It will be worth it." Michelle said and placed a hand on Rachel's arm, hoping to offer some comfort.

Rachel muttered a "thanks" under her breathe to Michelle.

"All right." Blair clapped her hands together and looked around at her minions. "Now that we got the destroying Amber project down, let's get to our other work then."

"Really, Blair?" Veronica whined. "I thought you only get us on the organizing committee for the Ivy Week so that we can get good seats on that day itself."

"Yes, but I also promised Lily that we will do a good job. It's not easy to get freshmen on the organizing committee, you know. The only reason why she had agreed was because I promised her that we would do a good job. And we cannot let her down." Blair said. "It will be easy. Just think of all the parties you had thrown over the years. It's not that different."

"Ok, fine." Veronica huffed and pouted like a little girl.

Michelle and Rachel merely nodded. They didn't dare to disobey their new queen. Why Veronica had the courage to even utter a word of disapproval to Blair, they had no idea. They knew that Blair had always liked Veronica a little better than them, but surely Veronica held fear for Blair as well? They all feared the same thing. Today, they were on Blair's side. What about tomorrow? The day after? What if one day, they did something to piss her off and suddenly, they were on the _opposite _side of Blair? They definitely didn't want that day to come. No one wants a social death.

* * *

"Amber," Blair called out and gave a small tap on Amber's shoulders.

Amber rolled her eyes at the one voice she didn't want to hear at this point of time. Or any time, in fact.

"What do you want, Blair?" Amber asked as she turned around, her long copper red hair swishing with her movements. It was more of a demand than a question, really.

"Nothing, I just heard that you are the usher for the Brown's rep during the Ivy week. And I just want to say 'Congratulations'. I know just how _much _you want to get into Brown. Since it's where your father meets your mother." Blair said, a Cheshire cat's grin on her face.

"Well, thank you. Now that you made you point, you can go now."

"But wait."

Blair's grin then turned downwards and she started to frown.

"Please enlighten me. Why would you want to go to Brown when your parents are getting a divorce? I thought the only reason why you wanted to go to Brown was because it's where your parents' oh-so-romantic relationship started. " Blair asked, as if she was really clueless.

"How did you know that?" Amber hissed.

"I had my sources." Blair smirked.

Amber continued to glare at Blair, as if hoping that all the glaring would burn a hole in her beautiful face.

"Tell anyone and I will make your life in Constance miserable." Amber threatened.

Blair just laughed.

"You can try, but you won't succeed." Blair smirked.

Blair then turned and strutted towards her minions who were waiting in the corner of the courtyard, quietly enjoying the show. Blair had made them stayed there because she wanted to do this alone. It ought to show Amber that Blair didn't need her minions to be a bitch.

As Blair was walking to her minions, she noticed him. Chuck. He was standing in another dark corner of the courtyard. From the look in his eyes, she knew that he saw what happened. She also knew that things had not changed since last night.

"Blair! That was amazing!" Veronica shrieked and pulled at Blair's arm once Blair was within her reach.

Veronica's shriek pulled Blair back into the reality.

"Thank you." Blair gave a small smile. "Well, she can't say I didn't warn her now, right?"

Blair raised an eyebrow and Michelle laughed.

"Oh, I wish Rachel could see this. She will totally love the face on Amber." Veronica said with a small sigh.

Even though Rachel had tried to ask for permissions to "accidentally" pass by the courtyard from Blair on several occasions, Blair was firm on her ground that Rachel could not, and would not, be anywhere near Amber before the Ivy week. Blair did not want this to go wrong and she certainly did not want Amber to be suspicious of the fact that Blair had already managed to pull Rachel over to her side. She did not want Amber to see what was coming. Amber must go down.

* * *

It had been exactly two weeks since she had last talked to Chuck. Sure, she had seen him around in school, but they merely passed by each other, treating each other as though they were mere strangers. No heinous remarks, no witty comebacks. A part of her thought that perhaps it was the best. They should just remain where they were and let bygones be bygones. But another part of her had been furious that Chuck did not even try to appease her even though she knew he knew that she had been upset over what he said. Perhaps that was why she was sitting here and just listening while Veronica continued her "story".

"I heard that he had this rare southern sexual transmitted disease. It appeared to be fine on the outside, but really his penis will be falling off anytime soon."

Veronica looked unfazed as she took another spoonful of her yogurt.

Michelle actually looked scared as she asked, "Really?"

Veronica nodded.

"It's not surprising, really. He had like, several women every day. He had only been here for what? Two months? And he already banged up half of the freshmen in Constance. He's a step beyond womanizer."

_That's true, _Blair thought to herself.

Her thoughts were then distracted by a familiar head of blonde.

"Hey, B."

Serena greeted as she walked up the steps with her cup of yogurt. She flopped down on Blair's right.

"What are you guys talking about?" Serena asked casually.

"Chuck Bass. You know, the one who's always wearing a scarf?" Veronica replied.

Serena raised an eyebrow at Blair, who ignored her.

"I think I had seen him around school. What about him?"

"Veronica heard that his penis was about to fall off because he got this weird sexually transmitted disease." Michelle looked disgusted as she filled in the information for Serena.

"What?" Serena exclaimed and looked at Blair, who continued to look as if they were not discussing about one of their oldest friend's dick.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I had nothing to do with this." Blair said in defense.

"Where did you hear that from?" Serena asked again.

"You know, the usual place. The girls' bathroom. It's pretty amazing the kind of stories one can know if you stay in that place long enough." Veronica gave small shrug. "And I will have you know that the freshmen are always buzzing."

The truth was, Blair knew that Veronica was, in a way, trying to get revenge on Chuck for trying to threaten her with her fake virginity.

"Aren't you going to stop Veronica from spreading this ridiculous rumor?" Serena then whispered to Blair.

"Why should I? Chuck will probably enjoy the kind of attention it bought to him. Builds up his infamous reputation. It's about time he had one around here." Blair whispered back.

"You think he will like it when people are saying his penis is about to fall off?" Serena exclaimed.

Blair merely shrugged.

"And that's the only thing I've heard." Veronica continued. "Word has it that his own father, Bart Bass, couldn't stand the different kinds of women he had been bringing over to his house, so he gave him a suite in the Palace so he wouldn't see him, or his many women under his roof."

"Hey! That's not true!" Blair couldn't help but yelled.

Shock was written all over Veronica and Michelle's faces and a wave of silence took over the Steps of Mets. It was the first time Blair had yelled at them. Sure, she _ordered _them, she _berated them, _but she never yelled. Even Serena was stunned at Blair's sudden outburst. She'd always knew that Blair was close with Chuck –as can be seen from all the joint projects of theirs- but she did not expect Blair to be _protective _of Chuck, which was exactly what she was now. Veronica and Michelle did not dare utter a word as they watched Blair's chest rose up and down as she took in sharp, deep breathes in an attempt to calm herself down.

"I don't care what kind of rumors you wanted to spread about Chuck, Veronica, but never, _ever, _include his father in them. Do you understand?" Blair articulated.

Veronica gave her head a few nods.

"Good." Blair said. "Come on, S. Lesson's starting."

Blair then stood up and walked away, with Serena following behind her and Veronica and Michelle dumbfounded on the steps.

_What the hell was that?_

_

* * *

_

"Do you want to talk about it?" Serena asked as she stepped into Blair's room.

Serena was staying over with Eric at the Waldorf's again because their very irresponsible mother had taken off to another exotic place with her current husband again. Blair was on her bed with her books around her and Serena had just very rudely interrupted her study session.

"There's nothing to talk about, S." Blair said without even as much as lifting her head from the books.

"I know you and Chuck are close, Blair. But don't you think you care a little too much?" Serena continued, ignoring Blair's words.

"Firstly, Chuck and I are not close." Blair lifted her head and gave Serena a deadly glare.

Serena said nothing but simply raised an eyebrow.

"We are not close!" Blair exclaimed. "Secondly, I don't care about Chuck, Serena."

"Really? Because you seemed to care a lot when Veronica mentioned Bart."

"Veronica knows nothing! I actually began to think of Veronica as more of a friend than a minion these days and she proved me wrong by being so… superficial. You know that's more to it when it comes to Chuck's relationship with Bart. It's not like what she said. I was merely holding up justice." Blair said in defense.

"But there you are, sitting there eating your yogurt when Veronica make the ridiculous accusation that little Chuck is about to fall off." Serena rebutted, folding her arms over her ample bosom. Even as a freshman, Serena had plenty to be proud of.

"How do you know Chuck didn't get any weird Southern disease like what she said, Serena?" Blair said in all fake sweetness. "Chuck did travel south a lot."

"Blair, you are being ridiculous. Why don't you just admit that you care about Chuck? You two have always been close. Even before, you know…"

"Serena!" Blair shouted as she squeezed her eyes shut. Blair did know what Serena was hinting about, and she certainly did not want the memories to be flooding her brains right now.

"Serena," Blair opened her eyes again when the memories disappeared into the little black box at the back of her head again. "Let bygones be bygones. We don't live in the past, do we?"

"You can't pretend it didn't happen, B! It's obvious that-"

"The only thing that's obvious to me," Blair cut Serena's sentence off. "Is that I have a boyfriend who likes me very much and Chuck is merely my boyfriend's best friend. I care for him like I care for last season Chanel. Now if you excuse me, unlike you, I actually want to do my homework."

Blair then lifted a book onto her lap and appeared to be studying the content.

Serena rolled her eyes as she stood up from Blair's bed.

Blair was in denial again and she knew that there's nothing she can do to pull her back into the reality. She would have to wait for the day when she's willing to face the truth.

If that day ever comes.

* * *

**So, what do you think? I've always think that Blair is protective over Chuck, don't you think? Perhaps even before the limo sex happened. That's why I wrote this chapter the way it is. **

**Oh, and I'm sorry for the lack of Nate and Blair scenes. I actually wrote out the dinner scene but I took it out because I figured that right now, Blair would be thinking too much of Chuck to be engross in her dinner with Nate so the entire dinner is quite boring. To the Nate and Blair fans out there, don't worry, Nate and Blair would eventually have some sweet moments together. :) **

**Spoiler alert: Next chapter would be the climax of this story. **

**Review if you like it! **

**To: Charlotte**

**Hey! Good to see your review again! I felt so honored that someone thinks that I can win a contest with this. It got to be one of the greatest compliment ever, so thanks! Well, this chapter doesn't really have much CB interactions, but I hope you like it anyway. :) **

**xoxo**

**Janice**


	12. xoxo, Gossip Girl

**The chapter's name ought to be somewhat intriguing, no? Read to find out. ;)**

**And Credits to Cecily von Ziegesar. :)**

**Chapter 12 **

* * *

Blair had been contemplating the Queen Bee Project as she made her way to school. The Ivy Week's just another week away and she wanted things to work perfectly. After all, this is her first major scheme in Constance Billiard. It ought to tell the girls in Constance Billard who Blair Waldorf was, if they don't already know. The splitting of the Elite had spread the name 'Blair Waldorf' around, but it was not enough. She wanted _everyone _in Constance, as well St. Jude's, to know who Blair Waldorf was. She wanted the girls to admire, if not fear her, and the guys to want her for a girlfriend. She wanted an era that belongs to her, and her only. She wanted to make history. And the Queen Bee Project will get her what she wants. She would have to run through again with the girls, Blair thought as she was turning around the corner to Constance Billiard. She didn't want her minions to mess up her plans.

Blair was deep in her thoughts when Veronica's screams brought her back to reality.

"Blair! Blair!" Veronica was yelling at the top of her lungs and waving her arms frantically in the air. She looked like a child getting her Christmas present; In other words, she looked very, _very _excited.

Michelle was standing beside Veronica too. Michelle's eyes were lit up, like Veronica's and a huge grin was plastered over her face.

"Blair!" Veronica shrieked again. "Have you seen _it?" _

"See what? What are you talking about?" Blair's eyebrows were furrowed.

"Gossip Girl! Michelle showed me this morning and it's the coolest thing on Earth!" Veronica exclaimed, pointing to her BlackBerry with her manicured finger.

Blair then snatched over the phone, taking a look at the screen.

Gossip Girl was a blog.

Not really a blog, but something like Perez Hilton. Her eyebrows continued to stay furrowed together as she began to read _Gossip Girl_.

_Hey people!_

_Ever wondered what the lives of the chosen one are really like? Well, I'm going to tell you, because I'm one of them. I'm not talking about beautiful models or actors or musical prodigies or mathematical geniuses. I'm talking about the people who are _born to it – _those of us who have everything anyone could possibly wish for and who take it all completely granted. _

_Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side, where my friends and I live and go to school and play and sleep – sometimes with each other. We all live in huge apartments with our own bedrooms and bathrooms and phone lines. We have unlimited access to money and booze and whatever else we want, and out parents are rarely home, so we have tons of privacy. We're smart, we're inherited classic good looks, we wear fantastic clothes, and we know how to party. Our shit still stinks, but you can't smell it because the bathroom is sprayed hourly by the maid with a refreshing scent made exclusively for us by French perfumers. _

_It's a luxe life, but someone's got to live it._

_Our apartments are all within walking distance of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, and the single-sex private schools, like Constance Billard, which most of us go to. Even with a hangover, Fifth Avenue always looks so beautiful in the morning with the sunlight glimmering on the heads of the sexy St. Jude's School boys._

_But something is rotten on museum mile . . . _

_Spotted: Serena Van der Woodsen, our favorite _it _girl of Constance Billard dancing on table tops with her beautiful, but dangerous brunette friend, Georgina Sparks. Getting wasted on a school night? Be careful, S. Even the elites need to keep up an appearance and S had gotten to school drunk more than we could count. Although, I bet Constance will appreciate a new VDW library._

_Hungry for more? Lucky for you, I'm here to tell. _

_Admit it, you're already falling for me. _

_Xoxo_

_Gossip Girl _

Blair scrutinized the photo attached of Serena and Georgina dancing. It was Serena all right, and she looked pretty high.

"Who _is _she?" Blair asked.

Veronica shrugged. "We don't know. I think it's supposed to be anonymous. So that nobody knows who she really is, you know?"

"I'm not stupid, V. I know what anonymous means." Blair snapped.

Veronica's expression from one of nonchalant to one of shame immediately, as if she had done something wrong. She hung her head down, allowing her dark brown wavy hair to act as some sort of shield from Blair.

"How did you find the site?" Blair then asked Michelle.

"I had Google alerts." Michelle replied obediently, eyeing Veronica with sympathy in her eyes even though Veronica could not see it. Ever since the 'Chuck' incident occurred, Blair had been a lot more hostile towards Veronica, which was a pretty big change considering she had been the nicest towards Veronica before. Aside from Serena, of course.

"Of Serena?"

Michelle merely nodded her head slightly.

Blair eyed at the screen again. She can't decide what to do with this piece of information, and her minions were waiting for her orders.

"Don't tell anyone about Gossip Girl until I say so." Blair finally decided. She needed to decide if she _wants _the school to know about Gossip Girl. If she wanted the school to know, it will be easy. She had Veronica and Michelle, two of the biggest gossipmongers in Constance. If she didn't, well, she just had Veronica and Michelle not to tell anyone.

Veronica and Michelle nodded.

"And keep me updated about Gossip Girl."

* * *

Blair was talking to Nate in the hallway when she was distracted by the sight of Veronica and Michelle approaching her. Ever since Veronica had told her about Gossip Girl, it was almostall she could think about. Maybe it was the mystery of who Gossip Girl was, maybe it was because the first post was about her best friend, maybe it was because she was hoping the next post was on her. But she was dying to know what would Gossip Girl do next.

"…and then we can go back to your place. Maybe watch some Tiffany's. What do you say?" Nate asked as he rubbed his thumb over the back of Blair's hand in small circles.

"Hmm? I think that's great." Blair said absent-mindedly. Blair had been looking at her minions over Nate's shoulders and Veronica and Michelle was waving her over. "I will see you tomorrow night ok?" Blair said softly. She then gave his lips a small peck before walking over to her awaiting minions.

"Gossip Girl had another post." Veronica informed Blair as they hustled their way down the hall.

"And it's about us!" Michelle squealed.

Blair raised her eyes at that information and then stretched out her hand. Veronica dropped her phone into Blair's hand.

_Spotted: Blair Waldorf, Serena van der Woodsen's best friend, whispering with her new minions, Veronica Millers and Michelle Jones on the steps of Mets. What is the pretty brunette up to? Everyone knows that B wants to be the next Queen Bee, but what will she do to get her throne? Let me remind you that every tiara has a price to pay, B._

_Xoxo_

_Gossip Girl_

The post was attached with a photo of herself, Veronica and Michelle sitting on the steps on Mets this morning.

"Isn't this cool?" Michelle squealed again, jumping up and down in joy. "I'm on Gossip Girl!"

Blair rolled her eyes at the attention-hungry blonde. But deep inside, she was secretly delighted that Gossip Girl mentioned her. She didn't want to be left out of the spotlight, like always whenever Serena was around. She would like to have her turn on the stage too. Perhaps that was why she didn't want anyone to know about Gossip Girl this morning, when she read the first post. It was all about Serena, and Georgina too she supposed, but mostly Serena. And she didn't like it. She didn't like it that this blog had crowned Serena, her best friend, the _it _girl of Constance Billard. That was like Serena winning an award at the Teen Choice Awards. Being the _it _girl as a freshman? That's making history if you asked her. And _she _was the one who was making history. But now that she had a Gossip Girl post about herself… That made things different. A lot different.

"Spread the word." Blair finally said, throwing Veronica's phone back to her.

Blair then gave a devious smile towards her minions.

"I want _everyone _to know about Gossip Girl by tomorrow."

* * *

Her minions did not fail her.

The next day, everyone was murmuring and whispering.

"….Blair Waldorf"

"…I heard that she is throwing down Amber"

"Can you believe it?"

And even something as ridiculous as: "I heard Serena van der Woodsen was selling drugs the night Gossip Girl had her first post". As if Serena actually needed the money.

Blair felt as if she was walking on air when she arrived on school that day with Veronica and Michelle on her left and right respectively. Everyone was staring at her, and she basked in the attention. It was like the first day of school all over again, only better.

She was almost reaching the doors of Constance Billard when suddenly, someone yelled the one word that could ruin her perfect morning.

"Serena!"

And that caused an uproar. Suddenly, the attention that she so enjoyed a minute ago was diverted to her perfect blonde friend. Students began to crowd around Serena, forming a semi-circle around her, but there was an invisible barrier where no one dared to overstep. Serena seemed to be taken by surprise by the sudden change in attitude of Constance Billard's student body, seeing as how the last time she was in school (which was a few days back), she didn't have a personal fan club, but she kept walking until she reached Blair.

"Hey. What's going on?" Serena asked, eyeing the crowd skeptically that had so kindly kept a metre away from her.

"Gossip Girl happened." Blair answered, trying to keep a straight face and ignore the green monster that was about to break loose because of the little diversionjust now. Just when she thought it was the best morning she had in weeks, Serena happened. How typical.

Serena raised an eyebrow as Veronica passed her Blackberry to Serena. Serena took a look at the screen and gasped.

Last night, Gossip Girl had a new post. It's on Serena, again.

_Spotted: S hopping from bars to bars since last night. Looks like a party animal had broken loose on the Upper East Side. _

Like her last two posts, the latest post came attached with a photo of Serena entering a bar looking very drunk.

"How did she get the photo?" Serena asked, her eyebrows buried together as she strolled down to the previous posts.

"I don't know. Maybe she saw you and took a photo." Blair shrugged. The question "how" hadn't been on her mind, the question was "why". Why did Gossip Girl post photos of her and her best friend?

Serena shrugged when she finished reading the previous two posts and returned Veronica's phone to her.

"We have first period together right?" Serena asked Blair, looking as if the fact that someone had been taking photos and writing on the internet about her was something she was used to.

"Don't you care about Gossip Girl?" Blair asked, curious about Serena's reaction towards the new Perez Hilton of the Upper East Side.

"It's a silly blog, Blair. It's not like it's a secret that I have been drinking at night. Sure, I'm underage. So? Lots of people do that. " Serena gave a small laugh.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Blair could see that Michelle and Veronica were exchanging a questioning look.

"You're probably right." Blair muttered. She still can't shake of the feeling that it's not just a "silly blog" though.

"Come on! You do not want to be late for class." Serena said, hooking her arms around Blair, leading Blair towards the classroom.

* * *

Blair was going through a list of things that needed to be done before the Ivy week at the dining table when she heard footsteps.

Must be Michelle arriving early, Blair thought. Michelle loved the Waldorf's penthouse. The first time she was there, she was shrieking at the top of her lungs about how she couldn't believe she was standing in Eleanor Waldorf's house. It was until Veronica nudged her then she realised how embarrassing that was. If Blair wasn't feeling somewhat honored and glad that someone admired her mother, she would have seek another minion immediately. Blair then put down the file she was reading, preparing to greet her guest when she realised that something was wrong.

Instead of heels clicking against the marble floors, she heard heavy footsteps. The shuffling of feet across the floors. It was not Michelle.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this Blair Waldorf, Serena van der Woodsen's best friend." Chuck taunted as he sauntered into the room.

Blair felt her muscles stiffened and her face changed to one with cold, hard expression. The one she seemed to be using a lot when she saw Chuck.

"What do you want, Chuck?" Blair demanded.

"Can't I come up to one of my oldest friend's house to say hello?" Chuck smirked.

_God, how she hated that smirk!_

"We aren't friends, Chuck. And you never did hellos." Blair retorted, narrowing her eyes at Chuck, trying to figure out what the hell was he trying to do.

Chuck shrugged.

"Now, if you excuse me, I'm expecting guests any moment now. Try and not let the doors hit you on the way out, will you?"

She was lying. The meeting she had arranged with her minions was a good half an hour away, but she didn't want to talk to him. Considering how the last "talk" had go, how could you blame her?

Ignoring Blair, Chuck pulled out a seat across the table and sat himself on it. Blair hated the fact Chuck always seemed so at ease whenever he's over at her house. She hated a lot of things about him right now.

Blair gave a sigh when she realised Chuck had absolutely no intention of leaving.

"I take it that you have read Gossip Girl." Blair finally said, recalling the fact that Chuck was quoting from Gossip Girl earlier on.

"_Everyone _read Gossip Girl now."

Blair can't help but gave a little smile at that. Everyone read about her!

Chuck eyed suspicious at Blair. He knew that look.

"Are you Gossip Girl?"

"What? No!" Blair denied immediately. "That's ridiculous."

"Right, right." Chuck gave a small nod. "If you were Gossip Girl, the first post will be about you, not Serena."

Blair said nothing. Truth was, she understood why Gossip Girl had gave her virgin post to Serena. Serena seemed to have a glow of her own, she always do. People wanted to know about her, not Blair Waldorf, Serena's best friend. But a part of her still wished that Gossip Girl had posted about her first. The desire only grew stronger with Gossip Girl's popularity.

Just then, both Chuck's and Blair's phone vibrated simultaneously.

How weird, Blair thought as she picked up her phone that was set on top of the table, right next to the file.

_One new message. _

Blair clicked open.

_Spotted: Chuck Bass paying a little friendly visit to Blair Waldorf. It would all look very innocent – old friends paying each other a visit. But let me remind you: Nothing's innocent on the Upper East Side. _

The post came attached with a photo as per usual. It showed Chuck with his scarf flying around in the wind as he entered the building.

Blair then made the mistake of lifting her head, thus making an eye contact with Chuck. And she knew. She knew Chuck had been reading the same thing as she just did: Gossip Girl.

"So, is it like we can't go anywhere without having our photos taken? I'm not sure if I can look picture-perfect every minute." Blair gave an awkward laugh. Gossip Girl's post made her uncomfortable, dammit. How could she imply that there's something going on between her and Chuck? Not that she's hundred percent wrong, but… No, she's wrong! There was absolutely nothing going on between her and Chuck. Nothing.

"You_ are _perfect." Chuck suddenly said, his voice soft. It reminded Blair of the night where he had spent the night over at her house. The night before she had ruined it all by asking that stupid, stupid question.

Blair looked at him, feeling surprised and shocked at the same time. She was waiting for some sarcastic remarks, but no, there was none. She searched his dark brown irises for clues that he had been kidding, but she couldn't find any either.

"How long will it take for you to realise that?" He spoke again. It sounded more like a question for himself than for her. Unmistakably though, was the genuine feeling in his voice.

Blair couldn't stand the tension between them anymore, and averted her eyes away from him. She couldn't stand looking into his eyes, not knowing if he really meant what he said. And she really wasn't used to people telling her that she was perfect. Most of the time, people (her mother mostly) told her how _imperfect _she was.

There was then silent, until a _ding _from the elevator broke it.

"I guess my guests have arrived." Blair said, getting out from her seat and smoothing down the creases down her dress.

"And I should probably get going…" Chuck muttered to himself and stood up from the seat.

"Blair?" "Veronica's voice echoed down the hall.

"I.. er.. I will see you later."

"Sure." Blair gave a forced smile.

Chuck then took the initiative to leave the room, heading towards the elevator.

Blair watched him leave the room. She waited until there was a _ding _before she released the breath that she didn't know she was holding. She didn't know why she felt the need to assure that Chuck had left before she let herself relaxed but it was probably due to the fact that they just had the most awkward conversation of their life and she just can't face him again so soon.

What was wrong with Chuck? Why did he do that? One moment he was all '_I don't know" _and the next he was saying "_You _are _perfect". _Why can't he just stick to one?

After a few deep breathes and swearing at the Mother Chucker that had caused her heart to beat at the speed of a humming bird's, she finally felt composed enough to face her minions. So she left the room.

When she find the minions standing at the foot of the stairs with their mouth opened and their eyes widened, she knew they saw Chuck leaving the penthouse.

"Is that… who I think it was?" Veronica asked.

"Chuck Bass? Yes. Is there a problem?" Blair raised an eyebrow, daring her minions to say otherwise.

"So what Gossip Girl said was true?" Rachel couldn't help but asked.

Blair felt defensive at her words.

"Hey! Are you here to interrogate me on my relationship with Chuck Bass or are we here to take down Amber?" Blair snapped.

Rachel bit down her lips and said nothing.

"Wait for me in the living room." Blair commanded.

Veronica, Rachel and Michelle then shuffled into the living room right away.

Blair gave a sigh and thought to herself, _This is going to be a long day._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: I actually took the first gossip girl post out of the book, but I changed it a little bit. I think that everyone's version of the first gossip girl post are different, so my version of GG may be different from yours. **

**To: Charlott**

**Hey! Hope you enjoy this chapter! I've been planning this for soooo long! Thank you for the review! :)**

**xoxo**

**Janice**


	13. The Ruins of A

**A/N: So. Some of you have requested for more Chair. And you know what? I would like that too. I'm a fan of Chair, although there's something about Nate and Blair that is just so attractive. However, I have to say, I can't do that. I mean, sure I will try because it always seemed very natural to include Chuck when I'm writing about Blair, but I can't do that too often. Believe me, I'm kinda upset about it too. But you see, one of my concerns when I'm writing the story is that I'm writing too much Chair. When I first started writing this story, the main focus is about how Blair took her position her queen, and how Chuck gained his reputation(which so far, I have only briefly covered by mentioning about the rumors that Veronica had spread and that freshmen were whisperings about him). Now, it seemed that Nate and Serena were kinda out of the picture most of the time, and that's kinda weird huh? Because they were supposed to be really close. I try to stick to my initial outline of the story and in that outline, Blair and Chuck is one of the important element, but not the only one. Though, I think that Chair sometimes interact not physically, but mentally or emotionally. And in this part of the story, sometimes they may not talk or see each other, but I assure you that they are always on each other's mind. So even though they may not be physically together, Chair is always lurking around in the background. Hope that is satisfying enough? No? **

**Anyway, hope you like this chapter. It's one of the most important ones! **

**Chapter 13 **

* * *

Finally, _finally, _the Ivy Week had arrived. And today was the day that Amber goes _down. _

Being Blair, she had woken up at 7 am today and put on the outfit that she had laid out a week ago. It was a white tight Armani dress and she had paired it with a black blazer so she would look more appropriate for the occasion. Of course, her white Tiffany headband had matched her dress perfectly. She wouldn't have it otherwise. She was inspecting herself in the mirror when her BlackBerry buzzed on the nightstand.

_Good luck! –S _

Blair smiled at the thoughtful text that Serena had sent. Since Serena had claimed from the beginning that she "don't want to be involved in any of these", Serena did not have any clue what Blair was doing today, or on any other days. Blair had decided that since she's in high school now, she could be more mature and she could respect someone's wishes. But, Serena did know that Blair had planned a major sabotage today.

Feeling the love in Serena's text, Blair left her penthouse.

This year, the Ivy Week mixer was held in the Terrace Room in the Plaza. Some ignorant Junior year girl in the committee had hinted that it may be too grand for a mixer but Blair scoffed and said that nothing's too grand for the Ivy League. Seriously, these people knew _nothing _about organizing such events.

Blair was going round the room now, making such that everything was ready for their prestige guests. Only when she had finally made sure for the third time of the day that everything was in their respective places did she finally allow her muscles relax. It was a big day and she can't help but feel a little tense.

But of course, there was still the main event of the day.

"Where's the tape?" Blair asked.

"It's in my purse. The nerd working behind the scene will play it when you give the cue." Veronica replied.

"Don't let it out of your sight." Blair warned, wagging a finger in Veronica's face. "You should know better not to, Veronica."

Veronica gulped and nodded.

"Michelle, keep an eye on her." Blair then left, leaving Michelle and Veronica glancing at each other in silence.

**XOXOXOXO**

The mixer was in full swing. Representatives were talking to their ushers, students were mingling and parents were chatting with one another. (It _is _the Upper East Side after all; everyone knows each other) It was going as well as a mixer can go. Blair eyed Amber, who was innocently chatting to her usher in the corner, still not knowing what was going to hit her. Blair found a kind of sick pleasure in the situation, and can't help but smirked into her too-sweet punch.

"I know that look." Chuck said suddenly, stepping in front of her.

Where did he come from? Blair had certainly did not see him around. She should know, she had been keeping a look out. Just so she could avoid him, of course.

"What are you up to?"

For once, Blair was not anxious to push him away. In fact, she was in a mood for a brief conversation.

"What are _you _doing here?" Blair asked in return.

"Remember whose grounds you are standing on. Bart is here. I merely tagged along." Chuck shrugged.

"Look at that, Chuck taking an interest in the Ivy League. The world as we know it must be ending."

Chuck eyed Blair skeptically.

"You are in a good mood." Chuck concluded. "I take it that there's a show coming up?"

Blair had told him the _outline _of the Queen Bee project, but she had never told him what exactly was she going to go. But by the looks of it, something big will be happening soon, Chuck thought.

"Wait for it." Blair grinned. "Somehow, I have a feeling that out of all the people here, you will probably enjoy it the most."

Chuck raised his eyebrows but say nothing.

**XOXOXOXO**

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" Lily said into the microphone, on the small stage that the Plaza had so kindly set up for the event.

The sudden voice that echoed the room caused the people in it to freeze in their tracks and put their respective conversations to a hold. Their gazes were on the stage, and the murmurings that filled in the room earlier came to a stop.

"Thank You." Lily said. "Every year, Constance Billard chooses a local constitution that the committee feels benefit the community. This year will be no exception. Can we have Amber Carmichael come up here to announce which constitution Constance will be honoring this year please? "

Applause filled the room as Amber excused herself from the Brown's representative and made her way through the crowd.

Meanwhile, Blair was texting away.

_Action. –Blair _

She then put away her phone in her clutch, a smirk on her face as she watched Amber took over the microphone from Lily.

Deep down, somewhere where her conscious still lived, she felt bad for ruining the event where Lily was in charge. But it was the ultimate place and time for a take down and if she missed this chance, who knows when the next chance will come up? Even if it does, will it be a chance as good as this? She doubted so. Blair made a silent apology to Lily in her heart and a mental note to make it up to her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Van der Woodsen." Amber gave a small smile towards Lily, who was walking off the stage. Amber then faced her audience. "Hello everyone. I'm Amber Carmichael and I'm pleased to announce that this year, Constance Billard will be honoring –"

Suddenly, a light out of nowhere hit her face and she turned her head away from the blinding light.

Then there was the sound.

"Uhhh!"

A moan echoed the entire room.

Shocked, Amber whipped her head around, and behind her, a video was playing on the wall from a visualizer that was installed in the middle of the room. At first, it was just a blur of flesh together to her. But after the initial shock, she realised she actually recognized the two main characters in the video.

"What is this?" Amber asked no one in particular. "Stop it!" Amber demanded into the microphone.

However, no one in the room paid attention to her. Everyone was staring at the wall with widened eyes, almost not believing what they were seeing. Lily, for one, had her hands covering over her mouth as she watched the video. For a moment, she seemed to have forgotten her role as the Ivy Week committee chairwoman.

In the video, a guy of age sixteen to eighteen with dirty blonde hair was hovering over a girl. From the angle where the video was shot, no one could see their faces, but it was obvious that they were naked. If the moans were not evident enough, the shaking of the bed and the thrusting of the guy's hips were more proofs that they were having sex.

"Luke!" The girl in the video cried out in pleasure.

Luke's body hid the girl's face away from the camera, but the copper-red hair that was splashed out around the girl had given the audience the first clue to who the female lead character was.

"I say stop it!" Amber demanded again, waving her hands around as she panicked. Beats of perspiration were beginning to form on her forehead.

People in the crowd were murmuring and pointing at the video that was still playing. Some of the girls in the crowd got into motion and began taking down pictures, videos or texting away.

The thrusts were getting harder and faster now. They were close.

"Stop the video!" Amber shouted again in frustration at the crowd.

"Amber!" Luke groaned as he came inside the girl.

One of the guys from 's cheered at the sight.

In the video, Luke stayed put in his position for a second before pulling out and rolling over on his back, finally revealing the girl's face.

"Amber Carmichael, you were amazing." Luke said, still panting away from the sex.

On the stage, Amber watched the video blanked out with a black screen. She then turned towards the audience, her face one of horror.

"I… I…" She stammered.

A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind. She wanted to deny that it was her in the video. She wanted to scream and yell at the culprit behind this. But she seemed to have lost her ability to speak. So she stayed silent. She wanted to run away from the stage, run away from the stares, run away from here. But right now, her legs seemed to have turned jelly and for a brief moment, she had forgotten how to move. So she just stood there and took in the crowd. The boys from 's were mocking at her. The girls from Constance Billard were whispering to one another. What she had feared most though, was the expression of the Brown representative. When Amber had finally gathered the courage to take a glance at him, she found him shaking his head in disappointment –or disgust, she wasn't sure- and heading towards the doors of the room.

She felt tears stinging at her eyes and a familiar feeling at the tip of her nose. Great, she was going to start bawling her eyes out in front of everybody. Can the day get any worse?

Thankfully for her, Lily had finally remembered her responsibility and was hurrying to the stage.

"Sorry for the…" Lily searched her brain for the right word. "Disruption just now. I believe there was a technical fault. Nevertheless, I would like to announce that this year, we have chosen… "

Once Lily took over the microphone from Amber, Amber woke up from her trance. Tuning out Lily's speech – a futile attempt to save the situation-, Amber turned to leave the stage. But just before she turned, she saw _her. _Blair Waldorf. Blair had her arms folded across her chest while she _smirked _at her. Amber clenched her fists at her sides as she chanted a string of curses in her heart while glaring at that disgusting headband Blair had on her head. How she wished she could tear down that headband from her head and stepped it under her heels. All tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes earlier on evaporated in an instant. Promising herself that one day, Blair Waldorf would regret this, she headed towards the small flight of stairs and began to run across the room.

If she thought that the day couldn't possibly have gotten any worse, she was wrong.

Just when Amber thought she could at the very least, make her _quiet _and somewhat unnoticed exit, there stood Rachel – Luke's girlfriend, in front of the door, blocking her way. And god, did she look pissed.

_She must have seen the video, _Amber thought to herself. She then silently scolded herself. Of course she had seen the video. _Everyone _had seen the video.

But just because Amber had slept with her boyfriend, didn't mean that she was going to back down. Hell, she had been the most popular girl in school throughout her years in Constance Billard while poor little Rachel had lunch with herself in that filthy cafeteria. Just because the whole world knew now that she had been sleeping with someone else's boyfriend didn't mean anything was going to change. So instead of what normal people would do, Amber stuck her chest out, and walked towards Rachel as if she had nothing to be guilty of.

"Hello, Rachel." Amber said coldly.

Rachel had changed a lot the last time she had seen her. Before she knew Luke, Amber had never noticed the quiet girl before. Amber never did notice those that she didn't care about. But after the first time she hooked up with Luke, she decided to check out the 'competition'. She could still remembered her telling the girls after she had saw Rachel was for the first time that it was no wonder Luke needed to find someone else to hook up with. Someone like her. Someone _hot. _And this Rachel, the one standing in front of her, was without a doubt, 'hot'. Since when did that happen? Amber asked herself. Rachel was spotting a light blue blazer over her white tank top and a skirt that was mid-thigh. Even though Rachel was neither toned nor tanned, she had nice legs. And from her choice of clothes, it was evident that she knew it as well. What Amber noticed straight away though, was her hair accessory. Rachel was wearing a blue headband – A sign that told her that Rachel was Blair's army now.

"Do you really think I wouldn't know?" Rachel asked with one hand on her hip.

"Do you really think I care if you know?" Amber scoffed.

For a moment, Amber swore she saw fire in Rachel's eyes. And before she could react, she felt Rachel's hand across her cheek. Hard.

Shocked, Amber put up her hand to caress it. The skin was raw and she winced at the touch.

"That's for sleeping with my boyfriend, you slut." Rachel spat.

Knowing that Rachel had the upper hand now, Amber said nothing. Instead, she ran past Rachel, and ran out of the doors.

Blair couldn't stop smiling as she repeated the scene where Amber fled from the room in her head.

"What Blair Waldorf wants, she gets", Blair had remembered her telling Amber that day in the courtyard. Now, she had finally gotten what she wants. Well, not _exactly, _but she was a lot closer.

"Blair?" Lily came up behind her. "Can I speak with you with a minute?"

Blair nodded, and allowed Lily to guide her to a secluded corner of the room.

"Blair, I have known you since you were a little girl. You can't honestly want me to believe that you have nothing to do with the mishap we have today."

_Wow, Lily sure isn't blunt at all, _Blair thought.

For a moment, she considered lying. It's her specialty after all. But this was _Lily. _She's different from the others. Lily was like family, watching her grow up all these years. Like an aunt, maybe. Lily was one of the rare few people in this world that she can't lie to without being weighed down by guilt.

So, instead, she did what she rarely did. She confessed.

"I'm sorry, Lily." Blair sighed heavily. "I hope you understand –"

"No need for any explanation, Blair." Lily held up a hand.

For a moment, Blair could felt the hurt that flashed through her face.

"I hope you understand the amount of trouble you have landed me in, Blair. " Lily sighed heavily.

The guilt Blair felt earlier on came rushing back again and Blair opened her mouth, wanting to apologise, but Lily continued.

"But, I supposed I can forgive you if you join me and Serena and Eric for breakfast tomorrow. How do that sounds?"

Blair broke into a grin.

"Great. Of course."

"And, you have to help keep Serena's attendance up. At least, for the next week. The school had been calling and I have been running out of excuses for Serena." Lily shook her head slightly and rubbed at her temples as if the thought of her own daughter was giving her a headache.

"Of course, Lily. I have every intention to do so even if you don't ask." Blair said.

"Good. I need to attend to some unfinished business now. I'm sure you would understand that, wouldn't you?"

Guilt tugged at her heart once again. "I'm really sorry, Lily."

"Well, what's done has been done and I'm not one for grudges." Lily gave a small smile towards the petite brunette. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Bye." Blair said.

Lily then left.

"Can't believe you would pull one on Lily." A raspy low voice came behind her.

She hated to admit it, but she wasn't surprised. In fact, she had been expecting him to come find her. It's just… _their _thing to do so.

She turned around.

"Actually, wait, I can." Chuck smirked.

"You know I wouldn't do it if I didn't think there's another chance as good as this." Blair said, her voice hard.

"It is a good chance." Chuck agreed, nodding his head. "I believe you destroyed her chance of getting into Brown. I have to say, the sex video surprised me. What can I say? You know me so well, Waldorf."

"I did say you would enjoy it the most, didn't I?" Blair said, a small smile one her face.

"I believe you did." Chuck said.

Just then, her BlackBerry vibrated in the clutch she was carrying with her. She took it out and read the text on that was on the screen.

_One new message. _

She clicked open.

"It's Gossip Girl." Blair told Chuck.

"B pulling the rug from under A." Blair began to read aloud. "Looks like B is stepping over A on the social ladder. Will a new Queen B emerge soon? Only time will tell."

"Queen B. I like that." Blair grinned.

"I don't." Chuck said.

Blair threw him a questioning look.

"Only Serena and I called you 'B'. What gives _her _the right to call you 'B'?"

Blair couldn't help but smile. Chuck was … _cute _when he said things like that.

"Are you…. Jealous?" Blair asked skeptically.

Chuck scoffed and rolled his eyes, acting it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. But Blair could still see the hint of red in his cheeks.

"Me? Jealous? You had too much of those punch, Waldorf."

"The punch is non-alcoholic, Bass." She retorted.

"Well, some guy must have added alcohol in it as a joke."

Blair merely smiled. She decided to let Chuck off today. She told herself that it was because she was having such a great day and she was feeling gracious. But in reality, something, somewhere deep in her heart, told her that it was much more than that.

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

Nate was on his way to the Plaza. He knew that Blair was on the Ivy Week committee and that the Ivy mixer was taking place right now at the Plaza, so he had decided to go over to the Plaza to show her some support. Blair would like that, Nate thought. And perhaps, after the mixer, he could bring her over to the restaurant that Tripp had recommended.

The double doors of the plaza then came into Nate's view. He smiled up at the majestic building and took a step forward. But just then, something red bumped into him hard and he felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him.

"Hey! Watch it!" Nate shouted.

Nate straightened the lapels of his jacket and turned around.

To his surprise, it was Amber from Constance, the girl Blair had been following around the first few weeks of school.

Amber whipped around, her copper-red hair swishing around, hitting on her face as her head turned. Nate then noticed the tear tracks that were staining her cheeks and the tears that were brimming in her eyes.

"Hey," Nate said again, but his voice a lot softer this time. "Are you alright?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder, but Amber slapped his hand away.

"Are you happy now?" Amber demanded.

"What?"

"I asked you. Are you happy now?" Amber yelled.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Nate shook his head.

"Your girlfriend! She makes a fool out of me in front of the Brown's representative! She completely crushed my hopes of getting into Brown!" Amber shouted at Nate as fresh tears began to roll down her cheek.

"I…" Nate stammered, a loss for words.

"Do you know why I wanted to go into Brown so badly?" Amber articulated.

Before Nate could respond, Amber began to speak again.

"You don't get it, do you? None of you did. It's not because it's an Ivy League school, it's not because I have grew up my whole life hearing stories from my parents about how good their lives were in Brown, and it's definitely not because it's the third oldest college in New England and the seventh oldest in America! It's because," Amber took a deep breath. "I wanted to remind my parents what they used to have together. I want my family back."

Amber's voice broke on the lat word and another tear dropped from a corner of her eye as she chocked back a sob.

"Now thanks to your little girlfriend, I will never have that."

Without another word, Amber turned around and ran down the streets.

**XOXOXOXO**

Blair was talking to her minions about what the take down on Amber.

"Veronica, you have finally redeemed yourself. Don't let me forget what I recruit you for." Blair said.

Veronica nodded and said, "I won't."

"Good." Blair turned to Rachel. "I saw you slapping Amber. I'm proud."

Rachel gave a huge smile. "It feels good."

"Did you see Gossip Girl? It's so cool!" Michelle shrieked. "She called you Queen B!"

"Now, girls. It's not official." Blair gave her minions a knowing look. She said that, but it was obvious that she was loving her new title.

"Well, it will be soon be!" Veronica exclaimed.

Blair's smile grew bigger as Michelle and Rachel nodded their heads in excitement.

"Blair," Nate called out as he approached Blair.

"Nate! What are you doing here?" Blair asked. Her face had lit up with joy when she saw his boyfriend.

"I need to talk to you." Nate said.

Blair nodded her head and tossed her head to her minions towards the crowd. Veronica gave a small nod and lead Rachel and Michelle away, giving the couple some privacy.

"What's wrong?" Blair asked.

"What have you done to Amber?" Nate could feel the anger rising in his voice.

"Nothing." Blair said immediately.

Nate gave Blair a hard look. He may not be the brightest bulb in the Upper East Side, but he wasn't dumb enough to believe that.

"Except for telling the truth." Blair continued, giving in under Nate's eyes.

"Did you make Amber look bad in front of the Brown's representative?" Nate demanded.

Blair said nothing.

Knowing this was Blair's way of saying yes, Nate sighed in frustration. His right hand reached up and he pulled at his hair.

"Why did you do that, Blair? This is too far. You destroyed her future, do you know that? Or do you simply don't care?"

"_She _destroyed her future! If she had done nothing to be ashamed of, I wouldn't be able to do anything."

"Oh, so you did nothing wrong? You did nothing to be ashamed of?" Nate asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

For no particular reason at all (or maybe just _one _particular reason), flashbacks began to play in her mind. Flashbacks of that night when Chuck and her had kissed, when Chuck had held her hand throughout the whole night, when Chuck had looked at her in that intimate way had flashed through her mind in an instant.

Blair opened her mouth, wanting to retort but Nate cut her to it.

"Just forget it, Blair. I thought I know you, but I guess I really don't."

Blair thought that she could never forget the look on his face as he walked away. It was one of disappointment, fury, and lastly, disgust.

Blair watched Nate as he disappeared into the crowd, wondering how the hell could her day suddenly go from "perfectly fine" to "a perfect disaster".

_Spotted: Nate Archibald trying to play the hero. Only this time, A is the damsel in distress._

* * *

**I would really like to know. Did anyone guess what Blair was up to? About the sex video I mean. Let me know!**

To: cbcbcb

I wish I can do that... But that will have to wait for my other stories, or at least, until later part of the story. Hope you will still like the story though!

xoxo

Janice

To: Charlotte

Aww, so many loves! You are one of my favorite readers now. Haha, simply because you alway leave wonderful reviews that make my day. :)

xoxo

Janice


	14. A strikes a nerve

**A/N: Finally! Frankly, I'm kinda disappointed in myself at how slow I'm writing. I used to write so much more faster! I really hope I can gain my speed back and update more regularly. I will try, but in the meantime, enjoy this chapter. :)**

**Chapter 14**

* * *

It had been one whole week since Nate had last spoken to her at the Plaza. **One whole week**_. _It was the longest they had gone without speaking. For the first few days, Blair had been apologetic. She was always trying to catch him before school, always calling him even when she knew it would just go to the machine. But after that, all she felt was anger. What did he mean when he said did not know her? They had known each other practically since they were born, and had been going out since forever! If Nate had known her by now, he probably never would. And it wasn't even the fact that Nate had been picking up a fight with her because of Amber that pissed her off. It was the fact that he _knew. _He had always known she was doing this. It was not as if she had suddenly changed or something. She had told him that she had great minds to be Queen ever since they graduated Middle School, and she was always talking about The Queen Bee Project (according to Serena, that's all she talked about). She thought he was okay with it. Ok so he had said that he didn't 'approve' of it, but he said that he didn't want The Queen Bee Project to be standing in their way too! Yet, look what he was doing now. Giving her the silent treatment because of a virtual stranger.

Blair picked angrily at her yogurt at the thoughts of it.

"Hey, you are going to break the spoon if you keep doing that." Serena said.

They were sitting on the steps on Mets, as usual, except that the number of minions Blair had with her had increased. The Monday after the Ivy mixer, Penny and Eunice were found waiting for Blair by her locker, eager to carry her books for her. Poor A, Blair would think sometimes, without a single minion by her side, Amber lost her authority as the Queen Bee almost instantly. Nowadays, Amber was always found nowhere during lunch and the center table in the courtyard was always empty. No one dared to sit there. Although the Queen was dethroned, the throne still gave off an aura that made people stayed away. Blair could have easily taken over the table, but she didn't want to. She wanted no connection to Amber. If she took the table, people would always remember her as The Girl Who Took Down Amber. She didn't want that. She wanted to be The First Sophomore Queen In Constance Billard. Not that she was a sophomore yet, but she wasn't the Queen yet either. But it was only a matter of time.

"Nate still hasn't called?" Veronica asked in true concern.

Nate had made quite a scene at the Ivy mixer the other day and it had drew the attention of Blair's minions, but thankfully, it was not enough for the adults to notice that the golden couple of the Upper East Side was having their very first big fight.

"Just because I have forgave you, doesn't mean you can shoot your mouth off whenever you like, Veronica." Blair gave Veronica a deadly glare. "I don't give second chances, V."

Veronica gulped and began to continue eating her yogurt.

"Don't worry, B. He will call sooner or later." Serena said, placing a comfortable hand on Blair's arm.

"It doesn't matter even if he called. I'm not going to pick up. I'm still mad at him, you know. " Blair said.

Michelle nodded. "Make him beg for it."

"Totally," Penny agreed.

"My mum always said that in a fight, the guy must called at least ten times, which, of course, you wouldn't pick up, and bring you your favorite flowers to your doorstep before you can forgive him." Eunice added. "And that's the very minimum."

Blair merely nodded. How she wished Nate would do that, but she doubted Nate knew her favorite flowers were peonies. There was a reason why he always gave her roses.

* * *

He had never hated himself so much for what he was going to do. And for Chuck, that was a lot to say. Recently, his emotions were a mess. It was almost like he's hormonal or something. They were certainly conflicting and intense. One moment, he would feel the sudden urge to hear Blair's voice. He would pick up his phone, looked at the screen, and put it back down again. Because he knew Blair wouldn't want to hear from him. She wanted to hear from Nate, her Prince Charming. Then he would felt anger. Anger at Blair's belief in her 'Happily Ever After', and anger at Nate's inability to care more about Blair. Nate had no idea how lucky he was. Blair was the most devoted, loyal girlfriend anyone had ever seen and she was _his _girlfriend. Why can't Nate appreciate that? Then he would felt this… emotion that he had never had. He wanted to make things right between Nate and Blair. Because he couldn't stand the way Blair's face always lit up when she heard footsteps behind her, only to see it fell again when she realised it's not Nate. He couldn't stand how he knew Blair would be waiting by her phone every night, because Nate and Blair used to talk on the phone every night before they slept. Mostly, he just wanted to get what Blair wanted. And what Blair wanted right now, was Nate.

Speaking of the devil, Chuck thought as he saw Nate walking out of his Biology class.

Taking a deep breath, Chuck pushed himself off the locker he was leaning on and strutted over to his best friend.

"Archibald," Chuck greeted.

"Hey, how's it going?" Nate said as the two of them breezed through the hallways of St. Jude's. There was no need to push through the crowd. Everyone knew who they were and their innate lowly self willed their feet to step aside, leaving a clear path for the two most well known freshmen in St. Jude's to walk through.

"Good, good." Chuck answered absent-mindedly. "Listen, have you spoke to Blair recently?"

"No, why?" Nate gave a slight frown.

Chuck hesitated. "You might want to call her. You know how Blair is. The longer you take to call her, the harder the time she will give you."

"Did she ask you to talk to me?"

"What? No. Blair has too much pride to do that."

"True." Nate muttered.

"So, umm, what's stopping you? From calling her, I mean."

"Chuck, what are you doing?" Nate eyed his best friend skeptically.

"Trying to be a good friend." Chuck said. He couldn't help but noticed that he sounded defensive to his own ears.

Nate raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just trying to figure out what had changed. A few weeks ago, you said you loved her and now you two are having a fight. What did I miss?"

Nate gave a sigh.

"Chuck, did you see what she did to Amber the other day? That was mean. And that was just… That's not Blair. Frankly, I don't even know who she is anymore."

"What do you mean you don't know Blair? You guys have been going out since kindergarten. You _know _her, Nathaniel."

"If this manipulating, selfish person is who Blair had become, then I don't think I can love her." Nate confessed as the two of them stood on top of the stairs that connect the St. Jude's building to the New York City's pavement.

Chuck shook his head. "Isn't that what love is all about? Loving their good _and _bad? Yes, Blair may like to do things her own ways, but what's so wrong with that? She's just willing to do the necessary things to get what she wanted. It's not _wrong." _

"Since when do you know so much about love?" Nate asked as he furrowed his eyebrows together.

"Think about it, Nathaniel." Chuck said, ignoring his question, and went down the steps into his awaiting limo.

* * *

Nate was on his way home as he thought about what Chuck had said earlier. What _had _changed? Just a few weeks ago, he was convinced Blair was the one for him. He _loved _her. He loved the look on her face when she's unwrapping presents, he loved the way she was obsessed with Audrey Hepburn and he loved how she always twist the ring on her finger when she's deep in thoughts. Sure, maybe Blair liked to be in control a little too much, but she's still Blair. Chuck was right. They had known each other for very long time, longer than he could remember. He had always known that that was Blair. If he loved Blair a few weeks ago, he would still love her now.

Nothing had change, nothing _should _change, Nate decided as he turned around the corner. Maybe he should call Blair when he reached home. Blair would be so upset that they haven't been speaking for so long. They had never, _never _been in a fight as long as this one. Maybe he should bring her out a nice date. With limo and chocolates.

Nate was feeling more and more positive as he neared his home. Just then, someone called his name.

"Nate!"

He turned around, only to find himself facing with Amber. Amber looked fabulous, as usual, wearing a cute beret on top of her red hair, a simple cardigan and a pair of 7 For All Mankind jeans.

"Hey," Nate gave a polite smile. "Amber right?"

"Yeah."

"What are you doing here?"

"Believe it or not, I'm here to see you."

Scrunching his eyebrows, Nate looked confused upon hearing Amber's answer.

"Can we talk inside?" Amber tipped her head towards Nate's house.

"Sure."

_Spotted: A not so secret rendezvous on the Upper East Side. Who knows A and N are such good friends? Maybe B does… _

"So, what is it?" Nate asked lightly after pouring Amber a drink.

Amber blushed lightly as she looked down on the floor.

"I'm really sorry that I yelled at you the other night. I was having a really bad day and you came along, and I guess I just leashed it out on you. You don't deserve that."

"Oh. It's okay, I understand."

Folding his hands in front of him, Nate continued.

"I must apologize for Blair as well. I admit that this time, Blair did go overboard. She should not have messed with your future."

Shocked at Nate's sincere apology, Amber blinked. In fact, she blinked twice before she found her voice again.

"Nate, you do not need to do that." Amber exclaimed. "What Blair did got nothing to do with you. I know that I said some… pretty harsh words to you the other day, but I don't really mean that."

"I know. It's just that… I know Blair wouldn't apologize, so I did. She may be… Blair sometimes, but she's really very nice once you get to know her. She's a very good friend."

"And a good girlfriend too?" Amber pointed out the underlying words in Nate's last sentence.

Nate nodded silently.

"You like her a lot, don't you?"

Nate nodded again as he kept his gaze in front of him, on his hands.

Amber was silent as she took in Nate's honest confession.

"In that case, I will accept your apology." Amber finally said. "But I wouldn't forgive her. I just can't."

Nate nodded. "I understand. I don't expect you to forgive Blair either."

There was then a moment of awkward as Amber and Nate sat in silence once again.

"Well then, I must get going." Amber stood up from the couch. "Got to keep my grades up if I still intend to go to a good college." Amber laughed silently.

Following suit, Nate stood up as well. "I'll see you to the door."

Amber allowed Nate to see her to the door, but just before she left, she spoke again. "I hope you can promise this, Nate. What happens between Blair and me in the future, you don't interfere. Don't let it come between Blair and you, and don't let it come between you and me either. To be honest, I like you, and I hope we can be friends."

Nate nodded. "I promise."

"Hey, what's with that glum look? You should be honor that you can be my friend you know. In case you didn't notice, I don't do that too often. Making friends, I mean." Amber joked.

With that, Nate managed to crack a smile.

"Let alone a freshman huh?"

"Yep, so you better appreciate it." Amber gave Nate a small poke in his chest.

Nate laughed. "I will. You better get going before the sky turns dark."

Amber nodded. "I will see you tomorrow."

"See you."

* * *

Ok, so last night, Nate didn't call. He wanted to, believe him, he wanted to. But then, on second thoughts, he thought he will have a higher chance of appeasing her if he went to find her with her favorite macaroons. She probably wouldn't pick up his calls anyway. And he deserved it.

So here he was, walking towards the steps of Mets with a box of macaroons in his hands. Nate smiled involuntarily as the image of Blair's smile popped into his head. How he loved that smile. And he just couldn't wait to see it again.

"Nate!" A voice stopped Nate in his tracks and he whirled around.

"Amber?"

"Why are you smiling to yourself? Good news to share?" Amber asked, laughing a little.

"Not exactly…"

"Oh! Is that macaroons? Can I have one?" Amber asked gleefully.

"Err…" Nate began. He wanted to say no, the macaroons were for Blair after all, but he made the mistake of raising his head and saw Amber's hopeful face. "Sure." He said, and stretched out the box towards Amber.

Amber face lit up as she reached inside the box, and took one. She bit on it and the creamy goodness filled her mouth immediately.

"This is good." Amber said. "Really good."

"Well, it's the best in New York. Blair demands the very best."

"Oh my god." Amber said in horror as realization hit. "Is this for Blair? I'm so sorry."

"No, it's ok. Makes more time for me to prepare for a good sorry gift." Nate shrugged

"At least let me buy you lunch."

"Like I said, it's no big deal." Nate laughed.

"I insist." Amber said with determination. "And I will have you known that I'm a very persistent person."

Nate laughed again. "Ok, if you insist."

A smile broke on Amber's face. "Great."

_Spotted: A and N having a little lunch date. Who knows A likes younger boys? _

Veronica gasped at the latest Gossip Girl blast.

The girls were having their lunch together on the steps on Mets as usual when everyone's phone started ringing, signaling a Gossip Girl blast.

"B, you know that's not true." Serena assured.

"I'm sure they are just having lunch. As friends." Michelle added.

"Definitely." Eunice said, and Penny nodded her head in agreement.

Blair pressed her lips tight as she re-read the blast again.

Finally lifting her head from her BlackBerry screen, she said, "Serena, can I talk to you about the sleepover party I'm having next week? There are some… issues that we need to discuss."

Serena nodded and the two best friends walked off from the steps, onto the pavement while the rest of the group ogled with curiosity.

"Going to his house and then lunch? Amber is trying to get me!" Blair exclaimed once they were out of the girls' earshot.

"Blair, Amber is 4 years older than us. Do you really think she will fall for a 14 years-old boy?" Serena reasoned.

"That doesn't mean she can't use him to get me!" Blair threw her arms in the air in exasperation.

"She won't get away with this." Blair announced.

"Blair, haven't you done enough? You got where you wanted. It's just a matter of time before you claimed Queen. You don't have to do this."

"Then it doesn't matter what I do, does it?"

Serena shook her head. "Blair… "

"Enough, Serena! If you are my friend, you will support me, wouldn't you?"

Suddenly feeling very tired, Serena merely nodded.

"Good. Let's go have our lunch now." Blair said in fake sweetness.

_Uh-Oh. Looks like Amber strikes a nerve. Watch out, A. B is not one to belittle._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: I hope you guys understand why Chuck did what he did. When I was writing, I was kinda afraid that it might not be something Chuck would do, but then what Chuck did for Blair at their prom kinda assured me that Chuck would do anything for Blair if he thought it would make her happy. So I sorta applied the same logic here.**

Review please? :)

**To: Jasmine**

**Aww, thank you! It always warms my heart when someone told me I have a gift for writing. :) **

**As for the shocking everyone with a sex tape part, I kinda wanna this story to be filled with the OMG moments. Just like the show, you know? That's what I love about the show: It always shocked me. **

**Oh, and don't worry, I hate to leave things hanging, so no matter how long it takes (and I think it would be pretty long), I will finish this story. **

**Thank you for your review!**

**xoxo**

**Janice**

**To: 13**

**Will try! Thanks for reviewing! :)**

**xoxo**

**Janice**


	15. It's a date

**A/N: Finally, some actions b/w B&N. :)**

**Oh, and I know this chapter is kinda short, but I want this chapter to focus mainly on B & N. They deserve it. Promise to write longer next chapter (hopefully!)**

**Chapter 15**

* * *

"So, Butter at 8?" Blair asked the minions who were crowding around her in the hallway. The bell signaling the end of lunch was about to ring, but the minions were waiting for Blair to dismiss them.

She got to admit, ever since Nate was giving her the silent treatment and Serena started dating the cute St. Jude's swimming team captain, Blair suddenly found herself with a lot more time to spare.

"Sorry B, I can't." Veronica gave B an apologetic look. "I have an upcoming test on World History. I need to keep my grades up if I intend to go into any Ivy League school at all since I haven't gotten into Dartmouth by early decision. Honestly, there isn't much choice because my parents have been threatening me since forever that if I didn't get into any Ivy League, they will not pay for my college education, which is really unfair if you ask me."

"Way unfair. A lot of schools aren't Ivy League but there are really good!" Michelle said.

"Like Duke." Eunice commented.

"And MIT." Penny added.

"Eww. MIT is really boring." Serena said, scrunching her face up in disgust. "Physics and Math all day? Just kill me already." She scoffed.

"But you get my point." Veronica said.

"Yeah, totally." Eunice nodded.

While her minions were debating which schools were as good as an Ivy League school, Blair's head was somewhere else.

World History? Isn't that….

"Isn't that the class you have with Amber?" Blair asked suddenly.

The debate came to a pause immediately.

"Yeah, why?" Veronica asked.

A smirk crawled across Blair's beautiful face.

"Ladies, forget Butter. Study date at my place after school."

Just then, the bell rang and with a wave of her hands, Blair dismissed her minions.

"Blair. I know that look on your face. What are you up to?" Serena pulled Blair to the side once the minions headed off in different directions.

"You will know later." Blair replied with an easy smile on her face.

"You know I can't. I'm meeting Jake after school."

Jake was the name of the swimming team captain.

"Fine. Your loss." Blair said and started her way to her class.

Shaking her head, Serena went off in the opposite direction of Blair's, in search of her own classroom.

Once Blair was determined, nothing could stop her. She was too stubborn. She just hoped that whatever Blair was going to do, she wouldn't regret.

* * *

He missed her today at lunch.

Nate's plan to show up at the steps with her favorite macaroons didn't work because Amber ate the macaroons. But that's ok, because now that he got more time, he can plan for a better date. After school, he called up one of New York's most expensive restaurant, Le Bernardin to reserve a private room for two at eight. Once he reached home, Nate showered and threw on a navy blue Hugo Boss jacket that Blair once complimented, a light blue shirt and a pair matching trousers. He ran through his hair with his fingers and then took a look at himself in the mirror. Ok, he looked good, he thought.

Letting out a deep breath, Nate let himself out of the house and into the limo that he had borrowed from his parents for the night.

"The Waldorf's penthouse." He instructed the driver.

The driver nodded and stepped on the gas.

Nate was staring out of the tinted window as the nervous thoughts ran through his head.

God, what if Blair wouldn't forgive him? His stomach clenched terribly at that thought and he clenched his hand into a fist involuntarily. He had saw her friends staring at them the night at the Plaza, and Blair had always cared about image and what others thought of her. Now that he had fought with her in front of her friends, will it be harder for her to forgive him? Unlike other girls, Nate had always find Blair quite easy to please. A stalk of flower, a box of chocolate and Blair would let bygones be bygones. He'd like to think that it was because Blair loved him too much to stay angry with him, but he knew things weren't that simple. But whatever the reason why Blair always forgive him so fast, he just hoped that Blair would find the same reason to forgive him that fast this time round.

Just then, the limousine whizzed through a flower shop.

"Stop!" Nate ordered the driver.

Immediately, the driver pulled the car to a stop along the streets.

"Wait here." Nate said and stepped out of the car.

_Academy Floral, _the signboard read.

Blair would like some flowers, Nate thought as he stepped into the humble store.

Once inside, whiffs of floral scents rushed to his nose and he immediately felt better. Flowers of different colors, different sizes greeted him and he couldn't decide which beautiful flowers to rest his eyes on. They were all so beautiful. There were flowers in all shades of red, pink, orange, yellow, blue, purple and white. It was almost he had stepped into the world of Thumbelina.

For a while, Nate stood around awkwardly in the store. He didn't know which types of flowers to look at. On normal days, he would have gone straight to the roses, because someone once told him he could never be wrong with roses. _Everyone _adored them and they were a classic. But now that he was trying to ask for Blair's forgiveness, he didn't think roses are enough. He needed something more. But what?

Nate was relieved when a skinny blonde woman in her mid-thirties came up to him.

"May I help you?" She asked in a squeaky voice.

"Yes, I need something for my girlfriend."

"Do you have anything in mind?"

"Not really…"

"Is there any special occasion?"

Nate scratched the back of his neck. "No."

"Ah, did you have a fight with your girlfriend?"

Nate's eyes widened at her question. How did she know?

The blonde just laughed.

"Lots of people come here to buy flowers when they make their girlfriends angry. It's a good way of saying 'I'm sorry'," She said with a smile. The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she smiled.

"How about some purple Hyacinths? They meant 'I'm sorry' you know."

Nate thought about it for a while.

"Great." He said with a nod.

After decorating the flowers with some Baby's Breaths, the florist wrapped the flowers with some pretty pink tissue paper and then handed the bouquet to Nate.

Nate thanked the florist and handed her a hundred dollars bill.

"Keep the change." He told her, and walked out of the store.

Stepping into the limo once more, he told the driver to proceed to their destination.

Nate smiled widely at the bouquet he had in hand.

Who can resist some beautiful flowers?

"I need you to steal Amber's test paper." Blair announced.

"What?" Penny can't help but cried.

"Why?" Eunice asked.

"Do, and not ask." Blair said in a hard voice as she stared Eunice down.

Knowing better, Eunice shut right up.

"What if we got caught?" Penny murmured in a small voice, but Blair heard her.

"We won't," Blair said confidently. "If you follow my plans.

"The best chance of stealing Amber's paper is before Miss Smith take the papers into the teachers' lounge. So this is what we will do. Veronica, you will go up to Miss Smith after class and distract her. Make her leave the pile of test papers on her table and bring her out of class. Michelle, you go in, take the paper, and put it in your bag. Eunice and Penny, you two keep a lookout outside the classroom. Questions?"

Veronica raised a hand.

"Yes?"

"Wouldn't it be better if we simply erase everything on her paper? If Miss Smith realize that Amber's paper is gone, she will let Amber retake the paper, thinking she has misplaced it, or worse, she simply give Amber an A if she does not dare admit that she has lost the paper. But if Amber handed in a blank paper… "

"And you just gets better and better everyday." Blair said with a big smile, clearly happy with Veronica's idea.

Blair then turned to the other minions.

"Girls, take a page out of Veronica's book."

Just then the elevator chimed, and Blair turned around wondering who will it be? Did Serena decided to join their party after all?

When Nate stepped out of the elevator with his ruffled hair, a bouquet in his hands, Blair's heart leaped.

"Nate?" She gasped.

She walked over to him and Nate handed over the bouquet to her.

"They are purple Hyacinths. The florist said they meant 'I'm sorry'." Nate said with a shy smile.

"Oh Nate… " Blair put the Hyacinths to her nose and took a breath. They smelled great. It was no peonies, but it was pretty damn close. After all, it's the thoughts that mattered, right?

"Am I… disturbing you?" Nate asked as he looked over her shoulders to where the girls were whisperings in excitement and taking pictures so that they can fill in Gossip Girl as soon as possible with the latest news on the Upper East Side.

"No, of course not." Blair answered quickly. "We were just studying. But we are about done, right girls?"

"Of course, Blair." Veronica said, taking the hints and began to pick up her things.

She then led the girls towards the elevator.

"Hi Nate." Veronica and Michelle greeted politely as they passed the cute looking guy.

Nate waved awkwardly back.

"See you in school, Blair." Veronica said with a small smile before the elevator doors closed and took them down.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Nate spoke.

"I'm really sorry, Blair. I was… overreacting and being stupid. Of course I know you. How could I not when we have been dating ever since kindergarten?"

Nate took Blair's hand into his own. Nate's hands were very warm. As he held her hand, Blair felt it spreading throughout her body.

"I'm just being stupid." Nate muttered as he pressed his forehead against hers. "Forgive me?" He asked softly.

A small smile graced Blair's lips.

"Always." She said, and she pressed her lips to his.

Blair could feel the small smile on Nate's lips as he pulled her closer, closing the gap between their bodies. Nate's arms automatically went to her waist and Blair flung her arms around Nate. She then felt his tongue on her lips, seeking for entrance. Granting his wish, Blair opened her mouth slightly. Soon, their tongues were fighting for dominance.

After what seems like too short a time, Nate pulled away softly.

"Shall we go then?"

"Go? Where?" Blair asked, her curious brown eyes peeking out under her long eyelashes.

"Le Bernardin."

"Le Bernardin? Really?" Blair gasped. Besides the really divine fish that they served there, Blair knew Le Bernardin had a really romantic setting too.

"I thought it would make for a decent date."

"It will." Blair said. "Thank you."

She then stood on tiptoe and brought her lips to meet his once again.

* * *

Blair set her clutch on her vanity table as the scenes of the dinner she just had replayed in her mind. Her face muscles were aching from smiling for so long, but she can't help it. Nate had been the perfect boyfriend this whole night. From the flowers to the dinner to the hot make out session after dinner, he had been perfect. She could not remember the last time she felt this happy with Nate.

Her BlackBerry buzzed in her clutch.

If it were even possible, Blair's smile grew even wider after taking a look on her Blackberry's screen.

"Nate?" She sounded breathless to her own ears. "Are you missing me already?" She asked teasingly.

Nate let out a small laugh.

"It's very hard not to." He confessed. "The temptation to turn the limo around and kidnap you is nearly too hard to resist."

"I will be honored to have Nate Archibald as my kidnapper."

Nate let out another laugh again.

"You are amazing, you know that? I really ought to send Chuck some sort of Thank You gift."

"Chuck?" Blair felt her body tensed up at the name. The smile that was hanging on her face just a minute ago dropped almost instantly.

"What did it have to do with Chuck?" Blair tittered.

"Well, he talked to me yesterday. Told me to think about us. You will be surprised to know how much he knows about love. He was giving me this big talk yesterday."

"Really?" Blair's heart was not in the conversation anymore. It was lingering somewhere in the Plaza hotel.

"Yeah. Maybe I should give him a scarf. Chuck always said a man couldn't have too many scarves."

"Uh-huh." Why would Chuck do that? Does this mean that he wanted her to be with Nate?

"Oh, I'm home already. See you tomorrow?"

"Sure. See you."

"Blair?"

"Yes?"

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

She then hung up.

That night, Blair slept with a million thoughts running in her head.

* * *

**Reviews are more than welcome. **


	16. A clean slate

**A/N: YES! I have finished writing this in ONE week instead of my usual two! Quite happy with myself.. Haha. **

**Anyway, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you guys for tolerating with my bad writing. I always refer back to my previous chapters when writing, to ensure that my facts are right, etc, and I realized a lot of mistakes in my previous chapters. Like all forms of mistakes. It has gotten to a point when I had once thought of re-writing the story. Would you guys like that?**

It's a wonder that people are still reading this. So... Thank you. I think it's pretty obvious that I don't have a beta, and I know I should probably get one, but somehow, I think I will be happier working alone? More freedom, you see. In one way or another.

In the meantime, here's chapter 16. :)

**Chapter 16**

* * *

The next morning, Blair went to see Chuck at the Palace hotel before school.

Using the sleepless night that she had, Blair did a lot of thinking. At the break of dawn, Blair had finally come to the conclusion that the decent thing to do in this kind of situation was to at least, thanked Chuck. After all, he did help in giving her one of the best dates she had. It was the right thing to do.

Taking a deep breath, Blair brought her hand up to the beautifully crafted door and knocked.

"I said no breakfast!" Chuck's raspy voice called from the other side of the door.

"It's me." She answered. She knew Chuck would recognize her voice. They knew each other for too long to not to.

Blair heard some rustling and after what felt like a lifetime, the door finally opened.

"Blair." Chuck said.

He then opened the door wider, letting her in.

Blair can't help but felt that Chuck seemed… happy to see her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, curious. Blair had never gone to his suite at the Palace hotel.

Blair swiped the room with a glance. It seemed nice enough. The decorations were great, the mini bar at the corner was stocked, and the furniture was definitely not from IKEA. On the surface, this place was perfect and seemed to have everything a person could need. But… Blair couldn't help but feel that there was something missing. Blair can't help but felt that this wasn't home. It was much too cold to be home to a fourteen years-old boy. There was not an ounce of warmth in this place. How could Chuck live here all this time? Didn't he ever felt lonely? Didn't he crave for some company? It was times like this when Blair really hated Bart. The least that cold-hearted billionaire could do was to give Chuck a proper home, and not put him away in some hotel. Perhaps this was why Chuck always had "female visitors" over.

Pushing aside her personal opinions on Chuck's suite and turning around, Blair forced herself to look into Chuck's eyes as she reminded herself of the purpose of her visitation.

For a moment, as she looked into his dark eyes, she didn't know what to say. Or more specifically, _what _to say. True, she felt somewhat grateful to Chuck for helping in giving her one of the best nights of her life, but there was another thing. Or should she say, another feeling. She was sad. It was as if her heart was tugged down by a heavy anchor and there was an ache in her chest where her heart should be. Did talking to Nate, asking him to think about him and her meant that he didn't mind if they were together? That he _wanted_ Nate and her to be together? For a brief second, her mind brought her back to that when they first kissed, and then to the day when she asked him if he had feelings for her. It all seemed like a lifetime away. She remembered the way he had asked her not to deny her feelings for him. The way he said it… It was as if he _hoped _that she had had feelings for him. But now that he wanted Nate and her to be together, that can't be true. Right?

"Blair?"

Chuck's voice brought her back to the present.

"Thank you." She decided to cut to the point.

Chuck raised an eyebrow.

"I knew you talked to Nate. So… Thank you."

Blair could see his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed hard.

"You know, I have an entirely selfish motive." Chuck said, walking over to the mini-bar in the corner and trying hard to avoid her gaze. "It's not like I talked to him for you or anything, so there's no need to thank me."

Blair couldn't see what he had to gain from doing this, but she said nothing about that. Instead she found herself saying, "Still, thanks."

Chuck shrugged as if he was saying 'whatever', grabbed a bottle of scotch and poured himself a drink.

"Isn't it too early for a drink?" Blair pointed out.

"It's never too early for a drink for Chuck Bass." Chuck said, and took a swig from his glass.

Blair scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Blair was busy taking down notes in her literature class when her phone buzzed. Lifting her head to check that the teacher's back was to her, she took her phone out.

_1 new message. _

She clicked open.

_Meet U at the front of the school l8? –N _

Blair smiled.

Nate had never been better to Blair the next few days. He would meet her at her penthouse everyday before school and they would walk to school together holding hands. He would sit with her on the steps with her minions during lunch and after school he would go over to her house for a hot make out session. He had never been so attentive, and Blair was soaking in all of it.

She would love to spend another day with Nate, to curl up beside him and to take in his warmth in bliss. But today, she had something important to do. Today was Veronica's World History test.

Despite Serena's many attempts in persuading Blair to call off the plan, Blair was headstrong in showing Amber some lessons. Dethroned queens didn't get to her _boyfriend's _house and then have lunch with said boyfriend the next day. Serena said that she should ask Nate what happened when Amber went over to his house, and even talk to him about her discomforts about his friendship with Amber. But Blair knew better. Talking to Nate about his 'friendship' with Amber may result to them yelling across the room, which may result in Nate picking his jacket and stomping out of the room, which may result to Nate not calling her again for another week. And she sure wasn't going to risk that. In situations like this, the girlfriend goes straight to the bitch.

Blair sighed as her fingers swept across the keyboard. She really would like to spend the day with him though.

_Sorry, can't. Going over to V's house to help her pick out clothes for her date. Dinner, maybe? –B _

Nate's reply was fast.

_Sure. _

Literature was her last class and when the bell rang, she went to meet Michelle, Rachel, Eunice and Penny in the hallway where Veronica's World History classroom was located.

"Well?" Blair asked as she approached the girls who were peeking around the corner.

"They should be done soon. Anytime now." Michelle reported while continuing to steal glances at Veronica's classroom.

Blair tapped her feet impatiently.

"People are coming!" Michelle suddenly whispered.

The girls hurried to hide behind thecorner. They then concentrate on their ears, desperate to pick up any footsteps approaching. Luckily for them, they only heard footsteps going in the other direction of the hallway.

"Is it safe now?" Penny whispered. "You go look." She urged Michelle.

Blair rolled her eyes at how juvenile her minions were acting. Clearly Amber did not train them well.

Blair opened her mouth to say something sarcastic, but something got her attention.

"Wait. Listen." She ordered.

The voice sounded far away, but there were not many people in the hallway and the voice still sounded distinctly clear despite the distance.

"No, Mom. The red one, not the green one!" Amber said, sounding very frustrated. There was silence as Amber listened to what her Mom said on the other end of her phone. "Because the green is hideous! And no, the red is not too bright for me!"

There was then clicking of the heels against the marbled floor of the hallway. She was coming.

"Quick! Hide!" Eunice whispered in a high voice.

For a second, they panicked. They looked around them, trying to look for any supply closets to hide in, but there was none and the exit was on the other side of the hallway. There was no chance of them getting out without being seen by Amber. Alarmed looks strike across their faces when they heard Amber coming nearer.

"What do we do?" Rachel asked in a whisper, sounding panic-stricken.

Thoughts spun around in Blair's head as she tried to think of a solution to her dilemma. Everything that they do now would look suspicious. Unless…

"Get behind me." Blair suddenly said.

"What?"

"Get behind me." Blair repeated again. "Act normal. We will walk up to her."

Nodding their heads, Penny, Eunice and Michelle get into their formation. Michelle took over Veronica's spot, on Blair's left since Veronica wasn't here and Eunice automatically stood on Blair's right. Penny stood on Eunice's right.

"I will talk to you when I get them. Wait for me." Amber barked into her phone.

She was close now, Blair could tell.

Taking a deep breath, Blair lifted her head and took the first step. The girls followed.

She was just about to turn around the corner when she found herself face to face with Amber.

Amber looked astounded to see her, but a mocking look soon took over.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Blair Waldorf and her wanna-bes."

Blair faked a smile at Amber.

"Constance should strengthen their security. Nobodys aren't supposed to be roaming loose in the hallways."

The taunting smile on Amber's face faltered immediately.

"Look, Blair. I don't want to play your little games. I will be graduating soon enough and all of these will be of no importance anymore. I just want to go to a good college now. If you want to be the Queen, so be it. Maybe one day, you will realize that all the things that you wanted right now are not that important after all." Amber said.

She then pushed through the human wall the girls had formed and walked down the hallway.

_Spotted: A A&B confrontation. Is it a start of a war, or the end of it? _

A sense of tension rose like a palpable cloud over the hallway as the girls waited for each and other to speak first.

"Blair?" Penny said timidly.

"What?" Blair snapped.

"Do you think that perhaps… we shouldn't do this?" She said in a small voice. "I mean… we practically ruin her chance of getting into an Ivy League. I think that is good enough, don't you?"

"Well, maybe she should have thought of it before she sees my _boyfriend." _

Penny opened her mouth, wanting to say that Amber was not seeing Nate, and that they were probably barely even know each other but she felt a tight grip on her arm. She looked down on Michelle's hand on her arm and then to Michelle, who was shaking her head as if to tell her no.

"Look, Veronica is coming out." Blair said.

True enough, Veronica was seen coming out with an old lady, whose hair was so white, it looked like silver. The silver hair was pulled back and secured firmly in a bun on the top of her head. Miss Smith was wearing an old-looking suit, that didn't seem to help in hiding her age. The suit was probably was old as she was, if not older.

They kept quiet as they watched Veronica led Miss Smith away from them.

"I just don't understand." They could hear her say. "Did Germany start World War Two or did the Japan started it?"

Blair made sure that Miss Smith was far enough from them before she waved Michelle, Penny and Eunice over.

"Go, go, go!"

Michelle, Penny and Eunice wasted no time and hurried over to the now-empty classroom.

Michelle sneaked in, according to Blair's plan while Penny and Eunice stood outside the door, looking out for any teachers passing by. Penny and Eunice were trying to look as casual as possible, as normal as possible while lurking outside the classroom. From where she stood, Blair could not see what Michelle was doing, but she hoped she wouldn't mess up by dropping the papers on the floor or something equally stupid.

Seconds ticked by and she could feel her stomach tightening. _What was taking her so long? _Miss Smith might return any moment now and there was no sign of Michelle's brunette head yet.

"You need to get your facts right, Miss Millers. You remember all the important years wrong. The World War Two started in 1939, not 1949," Miss Smith's monotonous voice can be heard travelling down the nearly empty hallway.

Blair mouthed to Penny and Eunice immediately, asking them to retreat. Penny and Eunice gave a quick nod and disappeared into the classroom, probably to drag Michelle out.

"I think we should go through the timeline again." Veronica suggested, she was clearly worried that there was not enough time for Michelle to finish her task.

"Another day, perhaps. While I appreciate your sudden interest in history, I have a faculty meeting in ten minutes. I can, however, give you something for extra reading. I believe this will help you to understand the course of the event better. Now, where is the paper…"

There was a lot of shuffling of paper and Blair could hear that they were getting closer.

She glanced at the classroom's door. There was no sign of Michelle, Penny and Eunice exiting soon.

"Oh here it is," Miss Smith said.

They were turning around the corner now.

"This is a very good article. Make sure you read it." Miss Smith said as she handed Veronica a small stack of papers.

"Thank you." Veronica said as she stared down on the papers. _What the hell was she going to do with this crap?_

Feeling the anxiety, Blair decided to take things on her own hands.

She walked up to Miss Smith and Veronica, stopping them in their paths.

"Oh, _there _you are, Veronica!" Blair said with a wide smile plastered on her face.

She made sure to stand directly in front of Miss Smith, blocking her view of the classroom.

"I have been looking everywhere for you!" Blair said.

Veronica managed a small, but nervous smile towards Blair.

"I was with Miss Smith, we were just talking about World War Two."

"Miss Smith? I'm Blair Waldorf." Blair said with a polite smile as she stuck out a hand.

"Nice to meet you, Blair, but I'm afraid I have no time for a chat. Oh dear, the meeting is starting soon. I must go." Miss Smith said as she took a glance down at her old watch that was hanging loosely on her boney wrist.

She tried to step forward, but Blair was quick to stand in front of her, blocking her view of the classroom once again.

"I'm sure you have time for a chat, Miss Smith. Being the experienced teacher you are, I'm sure you can give me some advice. You see, I wanted to take up World History and U.S History at the same time but I have some concerns…"

"Miss Waldorf, I really need to go, can we talk about this at a later date?" Miss Smith said as she tried to get around Blair.

Over Blair's shoulders, Veronica saw Michelle, Eunice and Penny sneaking out of the classroom. Seeing this, Veronica gave Blair the OK sign.

Blair noticed immediately and stepped aside, letting Miss Smith passed.

"Well, if you must."

Miss Smith gave Blair one last annoyed look before she hurried to the classroom as fast as her skinny legs would take her and then appeared quickly again, with the stack of test papers in her hand.

Blair could hear her mutter "I'm going to so late" when she passed by them to the conference room where all faculty meetings were held.

Seeing that Miss Smith was gone, Michelle, Penny and Michelle came out of their hiding place from behind the corner and went out to Blair with huge grins on their face.

"All done!" Michelle reported.

"Well, next time, do it faster. Do you want us to get caught?" Blair said in an accusatory tone.

"Sorry…" Michelle mumbled, all smiles gone immediately.

"Well, as long as Amber's in trouble, we're happy right?" Veronica chipped in, trying to help the strained situation.

Blair merely glared at Veronica and said, "Thanks to _me."_

She then turned to the girls.

" How can I count on you people next time? Please, prove to me that you are good enough to be talking to me."

Turning around, her hair swinging behind her back, Blair walked away.

It was a few days later when Veronica was staring at the back of some girl's head during World History, wondering if said girl had ever heard of conditioner. And if so, why didn't she use any? She could hear Miss Smith droning on and on about something that happened in the 18th century, but it was so boring that she tuned it out. Instead, she focused on the tons of split-ends in front of her. God, it's so frizzy and…_wild. _

"And now, your results for last week's test." Miss Smith said.

This got Veronica's attention and she sat straighten up in her chair.

"I'm pleased to announce that overall, we have improve. We have got 10 As this time."

Everyone started clapping. When the applause died down, Miss Smith continued.

"However, I feel the need to point out this particular student, who didn't attempt a single question. I would like to ask, is this some kind of joke you teenagers like to make, or is this student trying to tell me that she has decided to relinquish World History."

Students started to whisper, discussing who this student was.

Veronica took a glance at Amber. Amber was admiring her manicured nails, paying no attention to class.

"Miss Carmichael, would you like to enlighten the class?"

At the sound of her name, Amber looked up.

"What?" Amber asked, her face one of puzzled look.

"Would you like to explain," Miss Smith articulated, "Why is your paper _blank?" _

"What! No, I attempted every single question!"

"Explain to me then, why is there not a single pencil mark on your paper?" Miss Smith asked again, holding up Amber's paper for her to see that it was definitely blank.

"I… I don't know." Amber stuttered.

Miss Smith gave a look that said she had rest her case.

"If you don't take your class seriously, Miss Carmichael, then I suggest you speak to me, and we can do some rearrangements regarding your classes. Do you not want to go into a good college? After the little… mishap that happened in the Ivy mixer, I hope you realize you need a lot more work, and definitely better results in order to get into a decent college." Miss Smith gave Amber a scrowl and then continued to give out the test papers to students.

Amber slumped back in her seat and wondered what happened. She did did all the questions. Why was it blank? Unless… someone had set her up. There must be it.

Amber looked around the class, searching for any clues as to who the culprit was. She swiped the class with a glance and then, she rested her gaze at Veronica. Veronica was looking right at her, for how long, she didn't know. But when Veronica saw that Amber was looking at her, she smiled.

Amber knew that smile. It was a smile of victory.

_That's it! _Amber thought. She saw them. Blair and her little friends on that day of the test, lurking around in the hallway. They must have done something to her paper.

Miss Smith then walked by her, throwing down her paper on her table. Amber looked down at her paper which had a ' SEE ME!' written in dark red ink across it as she felt the fury consuming her.

Blair Waldorf had crossed the line, she thought darkly.

* * *

**What do you think of A not doing anything (not yet anyway!) after what B had done to her? Is she _weak _for not doing anything? She used to be a queen after all! Press that little button and let me know! :)**

**To: Jasmine**

**I'm all for Chair too! I like Nate and Blair(although, not as much as I love Chair), but it's quite obvious that they won't be getting together anymore on Gossip Girl so I have decided to bet on Chair. I really really hope they can get together soon. As for getting together in _my _story.. we will have to see. ;)**

**xoxo**

**Janice**


	17. Unlikely friends

**A/N: Hi, sorry for not updating sooner. I sort of lose my motivation to write during the holiday, but then I received an email, saying that I have a review for this story and WHAM! It's back. lol. I know it sounds absurd, but sometimes, it just takes one little review to get my fingers typing. :)**

**Well, this is a relatively short chapter. Only about 3000 words, but I wanna get it up before my birthday, which is in about 10 hours time. Can't believe I'm 18 already. Ok, back to the story. I will probably add on to it, and then replace the chapter again, so look out for it. ;) **

**Chapter 17 **

_

* * *

The last time we saw A, she was having a confrontation with our soon-to-be Queen B. But that was two weeks ago and there has been no news on A recently. What's with the silent treatment, A? Is A up to something? Dig, people. I want all the dirt. _

_Xoxo, Gossip Girl_

Blair rolled her eyes at the latest Gossip Girl post.

"What's up with Gossip Girl and her interest in Amber? It's the third time this week that Amber made the headlines and she didn't even do anything worth mentioning!" Blair exclaimed.

The girls were walking along the 5th Avenue when their phones buzzed with the latest post of Gossip Girl.

"She didn't even mention the fact that Angelina Jolie was wearing the exact same pair of Jimmy Choos last night that I wore last week," Veronica said with a pout. "You figure something this big would get her attention, but _no, _she has to talk about Amber and her 'silent treatment'."

"But… maybe she _is _up to something, Blair," Rachel said in a small voice. "I mean, we have already crossed the line when we were messing with her chances of getting into Brown, but sabotaging her test paper too? We're lucky that she hasn't kill us by now." Rachel then looked around at the others as if to emphasize her point. "I mean, this is Amber we are talking about, right?"

Blair's muscles stiffened and she paused in her track before turning towards Rachel. The girls took Blair's lead and stopped as well.

"If you are afraid of Amber," Blair said, her voice icy cold, "maybe you should think twice before slapping her. Revenge is sweet, but not when you are the victim. It's too late for any regrets, isn't it?"

The cold November air blew across the street, filling in the loud silence between the girls as everyone took in Blair's words. Truth was, they didn't just apply to Rachel. They applied to everyone else. They all knew that there was no turning back the moment they betrayed Amber. True, Amber may take them in after some apologies and several expensive gifts, but they all knew that one can forgive, but never forget.

"I don't regret," Rachel finally said.

"Good," Blair said with a smile that didn't quite reach the eyes. Blair took a step forward, but Veronica spoke again.

"But…" Veronica started. Her voice sounded timid to her own ears but she couldn't help but say what was at the bottom of her heart. "Blair, maybe Rachel has a point. You are new here, you don't know what Amber can do. You haven't seen –"

"So now you are saying that I'm not good enough for you? Is that it?" Blair bellowed. "That because I'm a freshman, I'm not good enough of taking down Amber?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all. I just thought that maybe we should be careful… Take precautions or something."

"Maybe _she_ is the one who is afraidof what we could do to her, have you ever thought about that? If you are scared of what Amber can do to you, maybe you should walk away now. Walk away, and never turn back."

There was silence as the girls remained where they were standing.

"Now that you make your choice, I trust you not to regret it. And I never want to hear about what Amber could do to us, am I understood?"

Murmurs of 'yes' were spoken.

* * *

Amber stood in the cold wind on 100 East End Avenue, in front of The Chapin, as her scarf flapped around her frantically.

She had been looking around, trying to spot the one face familiar to that of the one in the picture that she had printed this morning and so far, she had no such luck. They all wore similar-looking uniforms and every girl looks exactly the same to her. She felt like she was going blind from looking at the squinting so hard for so long.

"Hi," Amber stopped one of the students coming out of the school, "do you know anyone named Alison Snow?"

The student laughed.

"Are you kidding me? Who _doesn't _know Alison?"

"Where is she?" Amber perked up.

"You can try the Starbucks that's just around the street. She's always there."

"Thanks," Amber said and started going in the direction that the student had just pointed out for her.

The familiar green signboard was striking and it caught Amber's attention immediately. Feeling more and more positive by the minute, Amber quickened her pace.

Pushing open the heavy glass door, Amber stepped inside the shop. She thought that she may have a hard time looking for the one person that she was looking for, but she was wrong. The moment Amber stepped inside the shop, giggles and masculine laughters were heard. It was not difficult to trace the source of the giggles and laughters as the shop was not big and to Amber's advantage, Alison Snow was right in the middle of it.

Taking a look in the picture that she had just printed this morning, and then another at the pretty redhead who was surrounded by people of her age, Amber was sure she had found Alison Snow. Although the Alison in the picture had boring straight hair, no make up on and some baby fat on her cheeks while the Alison in front of her had red carpet worthy curls, full make up on and a sharp chin, Amber could tell that they were the same person. Still, wow. Talk about a makeover.

"Do you remember that one time when Ben puked all over your rug?" The guy sitting beside Alison asked.

The group laughed heartily again.

"How could I not?" Another guy answered. "My mum was _so _mad."

Amber stepped up to the group. "Alison Snow?"

Amber's voice halted the laughter and chatter in the group and everyone lifted their head and looked up. The guy who sat opposite Alison even let out a whistle at the sight of the beauty in front of him.

"Yes?"

"I'm Amber. Amber Carmichael. Can I talk to you?"

When Alison just stared at her, Amber spoke again. "Outside?"

Alison scoffed. "And what makes you think that I would want to talk to you?"

Alison's little friends laughed.

Amber could feel the anger rising inside of her but she forced a tight smile on her face.

"Oh, trust me. You want to talk to me," Amber said. She then leaned down and whispered in Alison's ear, so that only Amber could hear her. "Unless you want everyone to know that you were once a big fat loser in middle school, I suggest you follow me outside. Just to let you know, I have pictures." Amber then leaned back, a victorious smile on her lips.

Amber noticed that Alison paled a little. It was obvious that Alison wanted to keep the pretense of being the beautiful girl everyone thought she was throughout her whole life. She couldn't blame her. If she was her, she wouldn't want people to know that she was once, _urgh, _ugly. After all, Alison must have done lots to transform into the person she was now.

"Are you ok?" One of Alison's little friends asked her with concern.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" Alison replied, a false smile on her face. "I will just be right back."

Amber then stepped out of Starbucks, with Alison following her.

Amber handed her the printed picture of her once they were outside. Alison took a look at it and tore the mortified picture right away.

"How did you know?" Alison hissed.

"More question is, what _do_ I know," Amber replied as she crossed her arms over a chest and rested her weight on her left foot.

"Fine. What do you know?"

"That you went to the same middle school as Blair Waldorf. That you knew things about her that I want to know. That _you_ are going to tell me all the things you know about Blair Waldorf."

"What makes you think I would tell you? You can't threaten me, Amber," Alison sneered.

"Maybe, I can't. But you will tell me," Amber smirked. "I heard that sharing an enemy makes unlikely friends."

* * *

"So, how are things going between you and Nate?" Serena asked over her plate of sashimi

Serena and Blair were having lunch together at Geisha, Blair's favorite Japanese restaurant.

"Great, great. In fact, we just had dinner at Le Bernardin together last week," Blair said nonchantly.

"Le Bernardin?" Serena squealed. "Looks like Natie has been picking up some tips from the boyfriend handbook."

Blair smiled despite herself. "He had been the perfect boyfriend since then. Yesterday, he bought me macaroons and offered to watch Tiffany's with me."

"Really? He must really love you then," Serena teased.

Blair's smile faltered and her hand holding the pair of chopsticks stopped midway to her mouth.

Sighing, she put down the pair of chopsticks.

"That's just it. He hasn't say the L word," Blair confessed.

Serena's eyes widened. "No? But you guys have been dating since you were 5!"

Blair rolled her eyes. "You are exaggerating. We only make it official in the eighth grade."

"Still! It has been a year! It's like forever!"

"It's forever to you, you go from boy to boy like humming birds got from flower to flower."

"You know what I mean," Serena said with a little pout.

"I know," Blair sighed.

"Well, have you say it to him?"

"Well… No," Blair tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Maybe you should say it to him first. If you say it to him first, maybe he will say it back," Serena offered.

"That's just it. I don't want to say it to him first. I want _him_ to say it me to first."

Serena nodded, simply because she understood Blair and her secret fairytale fantasies.

"He will say it to you soon enough, I'm sure," Serena said with a smile.

Gathering as much enthusiasim, Blair said, "Yeah, he probably wants to wait for the right time."

* * *

Alison sneered.

"What did Blair Waldorf did to make you so mad?"

Amber's jaw tightened.

"That is none of your business. Just tell me what you know about her."

"Just to be clear, I'm not helping you because I like you. I'm only helping because I hate Blair. So so much."

_Alison touched her hair for the fifth time this morning. She examined it again and again from different angles, trying to look out for any stray hair that was out of place and was glad that she found none. She had done deep conditioning the night before, and was pleased that it had it's effect. She found no frizz in her hair this morning. She let out a sigh of relief. Blair had always managed to insult her hair in front of everyone, saying that she had obviously not heard of conditioning before, or that she needed to spend more than ten dollars on her haircut, and today, just today, she wanted to get a compliment, or at least, an acknowledge from Blair. __All she wanted, was to be acknowledged by Blair. And not in the negative way. But for once in her life, a positive remark from Blair Waldorf. _

_Alison had been doing things for Blair for a year now, and she was not even allowed to have lunch with her. Instead, all she got was plenty of insults and sarcasm. Things like "I wouldn't wear that if I were you" and "Yellow really isn't your color" were a normal. Still, everyday without fail, Alison waited for orders to be given. She knew it was better to be in it, than not to be in it at all. _

_Finally feeling confident that Blair would not be able to find a single fault with her today, Alison stepped out of her house and was soon on her way to meet the girls. They were going shopping today. _

"_Hi Blair," Alison gushed as she walked up to the girls. _

_She searched Blair's face for any signs of regconition of the extra efforts she had made in her looks today. _

"_You are late," Blair spat. _

_There was none. _

"_Sorry," Alison apologized, even though she knew she was not late. She was right on time. But if Blair had to wait for her, she was in fact, late by Blair's standards. _

"_Let's go," Blair said to the other girls. _

_Alison followed the girls, but she was as per usual, the last in the group. _

"_Oh, and Alison?" Blair turned around suddenly. _

"_Yes?" Alison said. A huge smile had formed on her face involuntarily. _

"_As your punishment for being late, carry my shopping bags," Blair instructed before turning back and leading the group to Bendel. _

"She pretty much make my middle school years a living hell," Alison said. "I was always trying to please her, always trying to get her attention. Looking back, I don't know why I even try. She was just making use of me to do her errands. Like I'm her servant or something." Alison let out a snort. "I guess I should thank her though. She makes me wanna change myself."

"But…you still hate her though?" Amber asked.

"Of course I do! Do you even _know _Blair Waldorf? Sometimes I think everyone hates her. It's just a matter of how much. I bet her best friend, Serena Van der Woodsen, hates her too. Deep down inside."

"You know Serena too?" Amber raised an eyebrow.

Alison nodded. "They were always together. Best friends since forever."

Amber thought about this for a while.

"And the van der Bilt heir?"

"Nate? Of course. Blair's dream guy. They dated in the last year of middle school."

"Only last year? I thought they had dated for at least three years," Amber thought silently.

"Chuck too?" Amber asked again. "You know, the guy with the scarf?"

Alison rolled her eyes. "Yes, him too. The infamous Chuck Bass. The four of them were friends since kindergarten. They grew up together."

Amber took in the information for a minute. She knew that Serena, Blair, Nate and Chuck seemed to have know each other before they went to Constance and St. Jude's, but she never thought that they actually grew up together.

Alison clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Do you want the real dirt or not?" She asked Amber, seeing as how Amber had totally lost her focus.

"Of course," Amber said, slapping herself out of her thoughts. "Do you have anything for me?"

"I don't actually just do things for Blair, you know," Alison said. "I actually see things… And hear things too." She lowered her voice into a whisper. "The last year of middle school, Blair suddenly lost 5 pounds. Just 'snap!'" Alison snapped her fingers for illustration. "Like that. All gone. In just two weeks, I think. Initially, the girls and I all thought that she was trying on a new diet or something, and we practically begged her to share with us her secret. But she just waved it off and said she simply doesn't eat carbs anymore.

"We believed her. She wasn't a big eater anyway, and we didn't ask her again. But it didn't just stopped there. She continued losing weight, until she was down a dress size and I got suspicious. Blair didn't do any exercise, because sweating is simply too gross, and a diet couldn't do that much. Then I noticed she always go to the toilet after a heavy meal. Alone. She wouldn't allow us to go with her. So one day, I followed her. Quietly, of course. And guess what?"

"She's bulimic?" Amber put the pieces together.

Alison nodded. "I don't know if anyone else knows, though. I know for sure that the girls at our school don't. But Serena, Nate, and especially Chuck, may know. They always keep things between the four of them."

"Especially Chuck? What do you mean?"

"Well, Chuck notices that Blair loses quite a lot of weight, and actually make little jokes about them. Not any thing mean though. Just stuff like 'If you get any thinner, you will be a bag of bones, Waldorf'," Alison made a remarkable imitation of Chuck. "And he made her eat. It's subtle, but I can see it. He made her actually order something more than a salad with dressings on the side on more than one occasion.

"Still, it's something Blair wouldn't want anyone else to know. Ruins her image, you know. So it's a really powerful ammunition, if you get what I mean," Alison winked.

Amber smiled. A real one this time.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Just make sure Gossip Girl gets all the inside scoop, ok? I want to know all about it," Alison said with a wave as she started to make her way into the cozy coffee shop.

"Wait! You read Gossip Girl too?" Amber yelled after her.

"Of course! We all read it in Chapin," Alison replied. "Bye."

Alison then gave another wave before pushing open the heavy glass door, and stepping in to join her friends.

'Wow. Gossip Girl is getting really big," Amber thought as she walked down the street, feeling as if she held the most precious secret in the world. And she definitely wasn't going to keep it.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I stole that line from Chuck. It just really fit in, don't you think? **

**And come on, hit that review button. I swear I will write as soon as I get back from my friend's tomorrow night (I'm going over for a sleepover tonight). **

**To: qwerty **

**Don't worry, I will definitely finish this story because I don't like things hanging around. It's just a matter of time. I hope I don't take too long to finish it too! Thanks for the review! :) **

**xoxo**

**Janice**


	18. B stands for Bulimia

**A/N: So this is the longest chapter ever. And I kept my promise, I really did start writing the minute I got home the other day. Hope it's good. Oh, and we are only 2 or 3 chapters away from the ending, if I'm not wrong. **

**Chapter 18**

* * *

That night, Amber called Nate out for a cup of coffee. She wanted to know if Nate knew about Blair's bulimic problem.

"Hey," Nate greeted Amber as he pulled out a chair.

"Hey," Amber said with a smile. "I got you a latte, is that okay?"

"Sure," Nate said before taking a sip. "So, what's up?"

"Nothing," Amber gave a casual shrug. "Just wanted to talk."

"Talk?" Nate put down his latte on the table. "About?"

"You. Your girlfriend. Anything," Amber shrugged again.

Nate gave Amber a skeptical look. "Ok… What do you want to know?"

Amber put her hand to her chin and appeared to be thinking hard.

"Hmm… How about how did you and Blair meet?"

Nate laughed. "That's easy. We were at this party that our parents bought us to. We were five."

"Five?" Amber's eyes widened.

"Yupp. Five," Nate nodded. He then picked up his latte and took another sip of his latte. "We knew each other since we were little. Grew up together."

It was Amber's turn to nod. "Serena and that guy with the scarf too?"

"Chuck? Yeah, we all knew each other since we were little."

Amber thought about what Alison said about keeping things between the four of them.

"You guys must be the kind of friends who always back each other up then."

Nate furrowed his eyebrows together. "I guess you can put it that way. Although, Blair and Chuck are usually those who keep a lookout for us. They are more of a..."

"Scheming and manipulative type?"

Nate gave a forced smile.

"Are Blair and Chuck really close?" Amber tried to dig for more information that may be more useful.

"We are all close with each other. Why?"

"Nothing, " Amber said again. "I just wanted to know you better."

Nate seemed to buy that. He nodded again as he took another sip of his latte.

"So… Blair Waldorf," Amber rested her elbow on the table and put her head in her hand. "You know, she's really skinny. Is she a size two?"

"I don't know. I guess so," Nate shrugged.

"Does she have a diet or something?" Amber asked.

"I don't think so… Why?"

Amber said the first thing, or rather the first lie, that came to her mind. "I would _love _to lose a few pounds and if she has any tips, maybe I could get her to share with me."

"So no diet or anything?" Amber tried again.

"Not that I know of," Nate said. "What's up with all the questions today?"

"Nothing," Amber said again for the third time today. She gave Nate a wry grin. "Like I said, I just want to know you."

* * *

Amber lie in her bed thinking that night. Sure, she felt bad trying to dig information of Blair out of Nate, but whatever. She would do anything to get back at Blair this very moment. Blair had gone too far. She was Amber Carmichael, for God's sake. If she never get back at Blair, she would never forgive herself. So despite the small voice in her head telling her to stop, which she assumed was her conscience speaking, she sat up, pulled her laptop onto her lap and started to type.

_To: _

_Guess what B stands for? Bulimia. _

_-A _

Taking a deep breath, Amber pressed sent.

* * *

"Maybe I should talk to Nate for you. You know, to put pressure on him," Serena said.

Serena and Blair were walking to school like true New Yorkers when Serena said the one thing that Blair feared the most after their lunch the day before. She should have never told Serena that Nate had never said the L word. Now Serena would be pestering her to do something about it. But she didn't want to do anything about it! She wanted Nate to say it on his own accord, and not because Serena had 'put pressure on him'. Didn't Serena know how _not _romantic that would be?

"No, Serena," Blair gave a dramatic sigh. "I want him to tell me on his own. When he felt like it's the right time."

"But it _is_ the right time! You guys have been dating for one year plus! How long must it take for one to say the L word?" Serena exclaimed, waving her arms in the air.

Blair said nothing.

"Blair… "

"Serena," Blair stopped in her tracks and turned to her annoying best friend. "I said no, ok?"

Serena sighed. "Fine, if you really think that's what you want."

"I think I know what I want, S," Blair said as she continued walking.

Jus then, Blair's Blackberry buzzed in her pocket.

_One new message. _

Blair pressed 'Open'. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Serena taking out her phone and doing the same.

_Good morning Upper East Siders, I have the biggest news ever. While many abandon the carbs and head for the gym in order to loses the extra pounds,__B chooses to abandon the food in her stomach and head for the bathroom. While bulimia is not uncommon on the Upper East Side, the news comes as a shock. Who could have thought that Blair is hiding such a big secret? Poor B. Don't you know? Secrets always come out._

_you know you love me,_

_xoxo_

_Gossip Girl_

Blair's eyes widened at the latest Gossip Girl post.

_How could she have known! _

It was true that she might have taken a few trips to the bathroom after a heavy meal sometimes, but it was a long time ago! And it was hardly a problem. It was just something she did when she was feeling stressed. Everyone had his or her own ways to deal with stress, and this was _her _way to make herself feel better. There was nothing wrong with it! What she did in her bathroom had nothing to do with Gossip Girl. Nor did it have anything to do with the rest of the Upper East Side.

"Blair…."

Blair looked up from her Blackberry, only to see the concerned face of Serena.

"Is this true?" Serena asked in a small voice.

Blair looked at Serena for a brief moment before looking away.

"That is none of your business."

"Blair, if what Gossip Girl said is true, we need to talk about it."

"You more than anyone else should know better than to trust Gossip Girl, Serena," Blair snarled. "Aren't you the one who said, and I quote, that it was a silly blog?"

"But Blair – "

"I don't want to talk about this, Serena. I just remembered that I have to see my chemistry teacher this morning. I have to go. I will see you at school."

Then, without looking back, Blair fastened her pace and walked down the street, leaving Serena worried and a head full of questions.

* * *

Blair tried very hard to concentrate on the chalkboard, and not on the mutterings around her.

But that didn't mean that she couldn't hear them.

"Is it true?"

"I don't know. But she did go to the lavatory an awful lots of times."

Blair shut her eyes tight, trying to make the horrible comments stop whirling around in her head.

_Brrrring! _The bell rang.

'Finally!' Blair thought as she began taking her books in her hand and hurried out of the classroom.

'The rumors will die down eventually,' Blair consoled herself as she walked towards the steps of Mets, not even waiting for her minions like she usually did.

The first day of the rumor was always the worst, and she knew it. Things would get better. It _had _to.

Taking a deep breath, Blair patted down the non-existent creases on her skirt and sat down on the step. Since she had walked so fast out of the classroom, and all the way here, she was the first to arrive at the steps. Her phone then buzzed in her bag. She felt around in it and took it out, hoping with all her might that it was not Gossip Girl, saying that she had proof that she had bulimia. It was not Gossip Girl, but it might as well be.

_I'm waiting 4 U at Ur house. We need 2 talk! –S _

Blair groaned. Serena wasn't going to drop it and she knew it. Urgh. Why couldn't she just let it go?

"Hey Blair," Veronica greeted, with a little skip in her steps. The other girls echoed their hellos.

"I got you a blueberry yogurt. Is that ok?"

Veronica didn't say anything unordinary but Blair could see it in her eyes and she could hear the subtext in her words.

"Yes, Veronica. It's ok," Blair said with fake cheerfulness and a big smile on her face. "Why wouldn't it be?" She dared her minions to say otherwise. "I always like blueberry yogurt."

Veronica handed Blair the yogurt and then sat down quietly with the other girls. No one talked for a good one minute. The silence was deafening and finally, Blair couldn't take it anymore.

"Ok, just to make it clear, I _do not _have bulimia," Blair articulated as she put down her yogurt.

"Of course you don't, Blair," Eunice said, her words coated with insincerity as she gave Blair a pat on her knee.

"You wouldn't admit it even if it was the truth," Penny muttered under her breath as she looked away.

"What's that?" Blair almost shouted.

"Nothing," Penny said all too quickly.

"That's not nothing. I heard what you said, Penny."

"Well, that would be nothing because I said nothing," Penny insisted.

Blair scoffed. "Don't try that with me, Penny. I know what I heard, and the least you could do is to admit it."

"Well, I'm sorry," Penny feigned.

"That you are bulimic," Penny looked down and muttered to her yogurt.

Blair glared at Penny, but said nothing.

"Stop it, Pen," Veronica said.

"Do you want to be dead?" Rachel hissed to Penny.

"You know what? Don't blame me for saying what you all are thinking. Admit it, you guys are thinking the _exact _same thing as me. I'm just being honest and saying what we are all thinking," Penny defended.

"No, this is not we think," Michelle said to Penny.

Michelle then turned to Blair. "We all believe you, Blair."

Penny rolled her eyes, as if she didn't believe what she was hearing.

"Yeah, we do, Blair." Veronica said.

Rachel nodded in agreement, but not Eunice.

Instead of nodding, Eunice just looked down at her lap, which Michelle noticed.

"Eunice, we all believe in Blair, right?"

Eunice did not look up, nor did she give any kind of acknowledge.

"Eunice! You can't seriously believe that Blair has bulimia!" Veronica exclaimed.

"You know how crazy that idea is?" Rachel said.

"Besides, Gossip Girl doesn't even have any evidence to back up her point," Michelle pointed out. "It's just a stupid rumor. I don't even know where she heard it from."

Blair listened silently as her minions defended her.

"Well…. You can't be absolutely sure that Blair does not have bulimia," Eunice said hesitantly as she fiddled with her fingers.

"I totally agree," Penny nodded her head.

"You do know that I am still here right?" Blair said.

The clique fell silent.

"Let me make it clear once and for all, ok? I _do not _have bulimia. In fact, I have bulimia like you have free dresses from my mum's new spring collection."

"You are going to give us dresses from Eleanor Waldorf's new spring collection?" Michelle squealed.

"Well, Penny and Eunice are not getting them now," Blair gave Penny and Eunice a hard look.

"That is awesome!" Rachel exclaimed.

"How about shoes too?" Blair suggested nonchalantly.

"Yay! I would kill for new shoes!" Veronica cheered.

Penny and Eunice exchanged disappointed and silent looks as Blair let herself immersed in the cheers and excitement giggles of the girls.

* * *

The first thing Blair noticed when she step out of the elevator was an angry-looking Serena. Serena was standing in front of the elevator, obviously waiting for her, with her arms folded and her weight on her left foot.

"Urgh, I was hoping you would have lost your patience and is off flirting with random hot strangers on the street by now," Blair groaned as she walked past Serena.

"Blair, I won't let you do this."

"Do what?"

"Avoidance! Blair, I know you have a plan for yourself, and a script that you want to follow exactly, but if you have a problem, I will want to know."

Blair gave a soft sigh as she turned around to face her best friend. Serena let her hands fell down to her sides.

"The problem won't go away if you ignore it, Blair. And you can trust me. You know that right?" Serena said, her blue eyes shone with care and concern.

"I…"

Just as she was about to say something to Serena, the elevator rang and Chuck and Nate stepped out.

"What are they doing here?" Blair asked Serena.

"I asked them to come. They need to know too."

"Know what?" Nate asked.

"Didn't you read Gossip Girl?" Chuck asked.

"No, not today. Why?"

"Serena!" Blair shouted. _How could she do this! She was supposed to be her best friend! _

"Blair! They deserve to know. If you have bulimia, they will want to help too," Serena argued.

"Wait, Blair has bulimia?" Nate asked.

"I do not!" Blair yelled.

"I do remember Blair losing a lot of weight when we were twelve… Do you remember that?" Chuck asked Nate and Serena.

"I just discovered the Atkins diet!" Blair said in defense. "Serena, you went through the same diet as me, remember?"

"Yes, but…. I lost like 5 pounds, and you lost ten or more."

"The effects vary from person to person!"

"No, no. I remembered you barely eating at times," Chuck insisted.

"How do you even remember that? You can't even memorise the five times table," Blair said.

Chuck said nothing.

"Am I the only one who is still in shock?" Nate asked.

"I do not have bulimia!" Blair suddenly bellowed really loudly.

The house fell silent as the foursome stared at each other.

"I do not, ok?" Blair said again, softly this time.

Then with tears brimming in her eyes, Blair ran up the stairs.

"Wait for me here, ok? If you hear no shouting in ten minutes, you can come in," Serena said to Nate and Chuck.

Nate and Chuck gave a quick nod before Serena chased after Blair.

* * *

"Blair?" Serena called out softly as she opened the door to let in a small gap so she could pop her head in.

Blair was sitting on the bed with her back against the headboard, a piece of Kleenex in her hands. She was crying.

"Oh, Blair," Serena breathed.

Serena opened the door to let herself in and then closed in quietly. With a few long strides, Serena walked over to the bed, pulled opened the covers and climbed onto the bed. She sat up against the headboard like her best friend, pulled the covers over Blair and herself and then threw an arm over Blair, pulling her close. Serena rested her head on Blair's and let Blair lie against her as she ran her hand over Blair's back in a smoothing rhythm. She could feel Blair's tears soaking into her new Dolce and Gabanna top, but right now, it was the least of her concern. When she felt Blair's sobs subsiding, Serena lifted her head.

"Feeling better now?"

Blair nodded.

There was a comfortable silent for a while.

"I didn't mean to do it," Blair finally confessed. "I… It started innocently enough. I ate through a whole dinner, and I regretted it, I felt guilty about eating. So I… vomited. I felt thinner, better, after I get the food out of the system. It was as if the calories, the fats didn't get to me. Then whenever I felt… conscious of myself, I do it again. I tried to stop it, Serena. I really did. I tried not to eat much so that I wouldn't feel guilty afterwards, so that I wouldn't throw up afterwards, but sometimes I'm just so… upset. And I…I binged. I ate a lot and then I threw up. It made me feel better. I don't know why, but it just did. And then… it became a habit over time. Deep inside, I know it's wrong, but I don't know how to stop it."

Serena merely nodded.

"It's like a giant mental mind game. And I just can't seem to win," Blair sobbed.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Blair asked softly.

"No, Blair. There is nothing wrong with you. You are perfect."

"You know what people call bulimia? An eating disorder. A disease. A problem. You know what people call people with bulimia? Malfunctioned. Imperfect. _Failure_," Blair whimpered.

"You are just going through a rough patch, Blair. It's okay, we will help you get through this. We will be here for you, Blair. _I _will be here for you," Serena affirmed as she pulled Blair closer.

* * *

"Do you think everything's ok up there?" Nate asked Chuck.

"Yes, it has to be," Chuck reassured. Whether it was to Nate or himself, he didn't know. But deep inside, he was blaming himself.

_How could he not notice! _He should have notice something! All the unhappiness and unsatisfactory about her body, the diet, hardly getting any food into her body… There were so many clues now that he thought about it. How could he not notice! Thank god it didn't became serious. Thank god he didn't only find out after she was admitted to the hospitals due to complications. Thank god it wasn't too late. _It can't be too late._

Chuck paced around the room nervously as he glanced again the clock again. It had been eight minutes and still no shouting. That was good, right? It meant that Blair hadn't kill Serena and Serena wasn't kicked out of the room. Yet.

"I can't believe I didn't notice anything," Nate said. "Amber was just saying to me how skinny Blair is the other day. How come I didn't notice how skinny Blair is?"

"Because you never notice anything about Blair, Nathaniel," Chuck said absent-mindedly.

"She even asked me if Blair was on diet or something. I can't believe I told her no," Nate said as he shook his head.

"You what?" Chuck suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"I told her no," Nate replied.

"Amber asked you if Blair was on a diet 'or something'?"

"That's what I said."

"You know what that means, don't you?"

"No, what?"

Chuck sighed. Nate was so out of it sometimes.

"Hey, it has been ten minutes. Should we go up?" Nate asked.

Chuck nodded.

"Blair?"

Nate opened the door and let Chuck and himself in. He then closed the door gently, like what Serena did earlier.

"Are you ok?" Nate asked.

Blair snuggled her head into the nook of Serena's neck and nodded.

"Are you… " Nate couldn't bring himself to say the word. He was afraid that Blair would get defensive again.

Everyone understood what Nate was trying to ask though. Blair didn't answer him. She merely snuggled deeper into Serena, and turned away from Nate. Chuck stood there and shifted his weight from his left to his right uncomfortably. Serena understood that Blair was uncomfortable with answering Nate's question and answered on behalf of her, nodding her head to imply a 'yes'.

Chuck wasn't surprised. He already guessed the truth when he read the post from Gossip Girl. Bulimia just made so much sense if you knew Eleanor Waldorf and the environment that Blair was raised up in. Blair was raised up in an environment where fashion knew no comfort, where it was only the outer appearance that matters, where she needed to look perfect, _be _perfect all the time. Moreover, it would explain the rapid weight loss Blair once experienced. He was stupid to think that it was just the diet like she claimed. So stupid.

If Nate was surprised, he didn't show it. Perhaps all the defensive shouting Blair did earlier had hinted him of the answer. Nate nodded, and climbed onto the bed, under the covers, to the other side of Blair. He took over Serena's job of patting Blair's back.

Blair felt the weight shifted, and a bigger, rougher hand on her back. Then, she smelled him. She smelled the familiar aftershave that Nate had been using for the past one month and immediately knew it was him. She turned towards him, and sought for his comforting hug. Nate put his arms around Blair and allowed her to lie on his chest. Blair felt better instantly. She closed her eyes and felt herself drifting off to sleep.

Trusting Blair to Nate's care, Serena got off the bed, and pulled the covers around Blair, making sure that she was warm enough.

"Let's go," Serena whispered to Chuck who was looking on uncomfortably at the loving exchanges between the couple. "Give them some privacy."

Chuck nodded, and followed Serena out of the room.

He took another look at Blair lying on Nate's chest, looking so peaceful and as if she belonged there and thought to himself, 'She was better off with Nate.'

* * *

"She needs help," Serena announced once they were in the Waldorf's common room. "And we are going to help her."

"I'm going to get her one of the best therapists in the country," Chuck said.

"Good, that was supposed to your area of expertise. And we need to be there when she tells Eleanor and Harold."

"I wouldn't have it any otherwise."

"Good."

"Now if you excuse me, I have a PI to call," Chuck said as he punched in some numbers into his phone. "You know, I really should put him on my speed dial."

"I'm going to call Eleanor and Harold. They need to be home early today," Serena said as she wandered off into the other room.

* * *

After a really good nap, Blair woke up in the arms of her boyfriend.

"What time is it?" Blair asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"About six," Nate answered.

Nate fidgeted awkwardly under her, which did not go by unnoticed by Blair.

"I'm sorry, is your arm asleep? You should have woke me up."

"You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake you up," Nate said as he shook his arm, trying to get some feelings back in there.

"Where is Chuck? And Serena?"

"They went downstairs."

"I want to see them."

Blair wanted to see Chuck. She didn't dare to meet his eyes earlier on, fearing what she would see in them. But she knew she couldn't avoid them forever. Serena was right. She needed to stop avoiding things. The problem wouldn't go away if she ignored it.

Nate nodded and helped her out of the bed. Together, they descended the stairs.

"Chuck? Serena?" Blair called out.

"Blair! You're up! Good. Your parents should be back soon," Serena said, as she waltzed into the room, followed by a gloomy looking Chuck.

"So early? They're usually home late."

"I called them. You need to tell them, Blair. Don't wait, don't procrastinate. Don't even think about how to tell them. The more you think about it, the more scared you are."

"It's not as easy, S," Blair sighed. "How do you tell your parents that you had a problem? That you are not who they think you are?"

"I know it's not easy, B. But we will be here with you," Serena said encouragingly as she stepped forward and held Blair's hand. "I will hold your hand throughout. I will be just beside you."

Nate put an arm around Blair and said softly in her ear, "I'll be here too."

Always not a fan of expressing his emotions, Chuck stood in a corner and said nothing.

"I love you, B," Serena said as she leaned in for a hug.

"I love you too, S," Blair said as she rested her head on her best friend's shoulder.

Over Serena's shoulder, Blair locked eyes with Chuck. She knew that Serena and Nate will be there, but will Chuck?

As if reading the silent question in Blair's mind, Chuck nodded. It was all that Blair needed.

* * *

Before Blair knew it, she was sitting across the dining table from her parents, with Serena sitting on her left, and Nate on her right. She had each of their hands in hers. Chuck was sitting on the other side of Nate. How she wished this time would never come.

Taking a deep breathe, Blair said, "There's no easy way to do this so I'm just going to go straight out and say it.

I have a problem."

Blair saw her parents exchanged a wild, frantic look and she could feel her heart beating faster and faster by the minute. She gulped, wondering if she could ever get through this. Then, she felt Serena giving a small squeeze on her hand. Blair looked up, and saw the encouraging smile on Serena's face. She might have forced a small smile back, she didn't know. She then turned to Nate, who gave her a smile as well. But she barely noticed it. Blair looked past Nate, and looked at Chuck. Chuck must have felt obliged to give an encouraging smile like what Serena and Nate did, but all he managed to do was to give an awkward smile, and that made Blair smile. A small one, but it was a real smile. Blair turned back to her parents.

"I… I have bulimia."

* * *

"Gosh, that was tough," Blair said as she flopped onto her bed on her back.

"But it turned out okay, right?" Serena chirped.

"Yes, but barely."

"Don't exaggerate, Harold is very supportive. He barely flinched. "

"Not mum. She didn't say anything. I can't figure out if she was freaking out or just disappointed in me," Blair sighed.

"I'm sure the news just shocked her, that's all," Nate said as he ran a hand over Blair's hair.

'She's disappointed in me, and I know it. She's ashamed of me."

"Blair," Chuck said.

The sound of his voice made Blair lift her head and looked at him.

"She's not ashamed of you ok?" Chuck was determined to not let Blair feel inferior or inadequate.

"Ok," Blair said softly.

Serena noticed the change in atmosphere and felt the need to step in.

"Ok," Serena clapped her hands together. "I think we should go now. Blair got an early appointment with Dr. Sherman tomorrow and she needs her rest."

Nate gave a peck on Blair's lips. "I will call you tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok."

Nate climbed off the bed and headed for the door. Serena was following behind.

'Bye, B."

"Bye, S," Blair gave a small smile.

Chuck was the last one head for the door. Before he went out of the door, Blair stopped him.

"Chuck," Blair called out.

Chuck stopped in his tracks and turned to Blair.

"Thanks."

There was so much to say, and Blair didn't know how to say it out loud. So she settled for the first word that came to her mind.

Chuck smiled. A real one this time.

* * *

**A/N: Reviews? **


	19. Proposition

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Here's chapter 19. :) One more chapter to go! **

**Chapter 19**

* * *

Blair was getting ready for her appointment with Dr. Sherman. She shook her head in disapproval when she saw her reflection in the mirror. She wasn't so sure a Tory Burch dress was the right outfit to be wearing when you were telling a professional psychiatrist that you had an eating disorder. She pulled off her dress and took another glance in her walk-in wardrobe. Finally, she decided on a plain white blouse, paired with a navy Ralph Lauren blazer and an Alexander McQueen pencil skirt. She looked around in her wardrobe. Maybe some Anne Klein Paleo Flats?

As she was pulling on her flats, her Blackberry rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, B," her best friend's voice came from the other end of the call. "I'm heading towards your place now. Are you ready to go?"

"What? Where are we going? I have Dr Sherman's appointment today. Can it wait after?"

Serena gave a small laugh. "That's exactly where we are going."

"I'm going with you to ," Serena said nonchalantly.

"Serena," Blair sighed. "You don't have to do that. I've got Eleanor and Daddy with me."

Eleanor and Harold had promised to be there with their little girl for her first therapy session with Dr. Sherman.

"Well, I figured that you need a friend with you today too. So I'm coming with you."

"Serena, you've done enough. If not for you, I wouldn't even admit that I…" Blair gulped. "…That I had a problem."

It was still difficult for her to admit that.

"Blair, I'm your best friend. This is basically part of the job requirement. I'm reaching soon," Serena said. "See you later."

Serena then hung up on Blair.

Blair sighed again as she looked down on her phone. Serena could be really stubborn if she wanted to, and this time, Blair was grateful for her stubbornness. Blair would never admit it openly, but Serena was right; She needed a friend today. Having your parents with you, and having your friend with you was different. Blair always felt that she needed to put up a front in front of her parents, but she wouldn't need to in front of Serena. Serena was one of the few people whom Blair was not afraid to open up to. Besides, Blair needed someone to make her stay there, and not ran away at the last minute. Serena would do a very good job at that.

Blair continued to dress up. She put on a headband that would match her outfit - a Susan Daniels white headband. But before Blair could put on her necklace, her Blackberry rang again. She thought it was Serena, calling to nag at her again, but a look at the Caller ID told her that she was wrong. It was Chuck.

"Hello," Blair answered.

Blair tried to sound as normal as possible, but in reality, the moment Blair saw his name on her screen, her heart rate increased rapidly. This must not be good for her health.

"Hey, it's me."

"_Breathe," _Blair reminded herself._ In, out. In, out. _

"I know."

He said nothing for a while, and Blair wondered why he really called.

"So… are you feeling nervous?"

So _this _was why he called.

Blair sat down on her bed and fiddled with the hem of her dress with her free hand.

"That's a really stupid question, Bass. Of course I'm nervous," Blair said. "I'm a wreck," She added softly.

"You'll do just fine. You're Blair Waldorf."

Chuck sounded confident. Maybe he was. Maybe he really believed that Blair Waldorf would do 'just fine'.

Blair laughed a little.

"But Blair Waldorf had never admit that she had an eating disorder to a total stranger before."

"There's a first for everything."

Blair smiled. How true was that. She believed that this was the first time Chuck had called a girl, asking her if she was nervous and then attempted to calm her down when she said she was.

"I think I heard that somewhere before," Blair said.

Blair couldn't see him, but she knew. She knew he was smiling on the other end of the line. She imagined a small smile grazing on his lips.

"He will help you, Blair," Chuck's tone suddenly changed to one of serious. "He's the best in the country, I've made sure of it. You will be better in no time."

Blair smiled as she said, "I know. Thank you, by the way. For everything."

Chuck chuckled. "You know, you said that yesterday already."

"I know, but I wanted to say it again."

"Since when have you become such an old nag?"

Blair laughed again. For once in a long while, Blair felt herself getting relaxed. Ever since the Gossip Girl blast, Blair felt tense, as if all her muscles were contracting.

"Blair!" Serena yelled up the stairs.

Blair's eyes darted to the door. "I think Serena's here. Call me later?"

"Report back with details, Waldorf. If he's no good, I plan on changing my private investigator. He promised me that Dr. Sherman is the best."

Blair rolled her eyes at that.

"Sure, sure," she said half-heartedly before hanging up.

"Blair!" Serena burst into the room just in time to see Blair hanging up her phone.

"Are you talking to Nate?" Serena asked.

"Um, no. That was actually Chuck."

"Chuck?" Serena's eyes widened. "Why would he call you?"

"Chuck and I are friends," Blair said, she can't help but take offence to the way Serena had asked the question. Why _wouldn't _Chuck call her?

Serena opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. She seemed to change her mind about whatever she was going to say. Instead, she nodded, said, "Let's go then, Eleanor and Harold are waiting for us downstairs."

Serena then walked out of the room. Blair followed.

* * *

Chuck took another glance at the clock.

One fifteen. He imagined Blair getting ready for her appointment, trying to find a headband that matched her outfit. He smiled at that thought. Blair _always _had a headband that matched her outfit. His grip tightened around his phone.

He imagined Blair's feelings. Was Blair trying not to think about the appointment? Was she trying to ignore the knots in her stomach? Or was she fidgeting? More than anything else, Chuck wished to take away any kind of unhappiness, or misery that Blair was feeling now. But he didn't know exactly how.

He looked at his phone. And then he dialed the number that he had memorized by heart.

His heart pounded heart against his chest as the ringing tone started.

"Hello." She picked up. _She picked up. _

"Hey, it's me."

"I know," she answered.

His heart pounded even faster.

What should he say? There were a million things that he could say, but nothing came out of his mouth.

Not knowing what was the right thing to say, he finally settled for, "So… are you feeling nervous?"

"That's a really stupid question, Bass. Of course I'm nervous," Blair said.

"I'm a wreck," She then added.

Her last sentence revealed more than it should – Blair's rare moment of vulnerability. His heart went out for her.

"You'll do just fine. You're Blair Waldorf," Chuck said in true honesty.

Blair laughed, and Chuck smiled at that.

He loved her laugh. Most importantly, he loved that he made her laugh. He wanted to hear that laugh again. Many times a day. He wanted her to be happy. Chuck might never be able to admit it to anyone else, but he felt immensely guilty. He wanted to make it up. He wanted Blair to be happy. And for that, he needed to dig some dirt and talked to a certain redhead.

* * *

"Well, that went well, right?" Serena asked as Blair, Eleanor, Harold and her walked out of the elevator.

"As well as a therapist session can go," Blair said dejectedly.

"You did well, Blair Bear," Harold said encouragingly as he wrapped an arm around his precious daughter. "Even Dr. Sherman said so."

"Shouldn't we find another therapist? I don't trust this Dr. Sherman."

"Mother, please, Chuck promised that Dr. Sherman is the best. As much hard as this is to believe, I trust Chuck."

"I trust Charles too, but there's no harm looking for another therapist. He can't even give us a vague idea of when Blair will recover. I'm sure we can find one who can."

"Eleanor, these things take time. I'm sure Dr. Sherman knows what he's doing." Harold assured his wife.

"Well, if you say so… but I still think -"

"Eleanor," Harold shook his head, signaling that the conversation was coming to an end.

"Your mother and I are going up to our room, okay?"

Blair nodded.

Harold gave a kiss on Blair's temple and then went up to the room with Eleanor.

Blair noticed that Serena had made herself at home and was already sitting on the couch with her phone in hand.

"So what did she say?" Blair asked nonchalantly as she walked over to Serena and sat herself down beside her.

"What?"

"Gossip Girl. What does it say?"

Gossip Girl had already integrated herself into almost every teenager's life on the Upper East Side. Now, everyone checked Gossip Girl several times a day, desperate for any news of the _it _crowd. Checking Gossip Girl became even more important when you were one of those people that she liked to target on.

Serena sighed, but began to read aloud. "Spotted: B going to the psycharist with S and Daddy and Mummy Waldorf. Looks like it's true people. B _does _stand for Bulimia."

Blair felt her cringed, but Serena did not realize and carried on.

"What other secrets are B hiding from us? Is she not the scheming, manipulative evil queen-to-be that we thought she is? When I know, you'll know."

"She's creepy, you know," Serena said to Blair. "It's almost like she just _knows _you have secrets. You need to be on the edge all the time, B. If she knows about you and Chuck…"

"Stop being so paranoid, S," Blair waved her off. "She doesn't really know_ everything_. And it's just one kiss, for god's sake."

_Just one. _

"She knew you got bulimia, something I, your best friend, doesn't even know!"

"Well…" Blair began hesitantly. "Honestly, I don't know how she knew. I never told anyone before. Do you have any clues how she knew?"

Serena shrugged.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore, really. No matter how she knew, the truth is out. Looks like we need to be even more careful with our secrets from now. So, if you have any more secrets that you are hiding from me, now's a really good time to confess," Blair gave Serena a knowing look, encouraging her to spill her most inner thoughts with her.

Serena laughed.

"No! I don't have secrets hiding from _you. _You're my best friend! I may have secrets, but you knew them all. I mean, god, you've seen me in my most embarrassing moment. You saw me slipping on my own puke for god's sake! I don't think I can ever top that off."

Blair joined in the laugher.

"That was so funny and disgusting all at the same time," Blair chuckled.

When the laughter died down, Serena turned serious and turned to Blair.

"But seriously, Blair. Do _you _have anything that you want to tell me?"

Serena obviously the little confession Blair had given last month, and was trying to get her to talk.

Blair shy away from Serena's gaze.

"If you are not going to talk about it, then I will," Serena said. "I will be honest here." Serena took in a sharp breath. "You like Chuck."

"No, I don't _like _Chuck…" Blair said. Perhaps it was a force of habit, she didn't know. But it was instinct to deny it.

"You like Chuck," Serena insisted.

"Of, of course I like Chuck," Blair stuttered. "He's my friend. Our friend."

Serena shook her head. "No, you _like _Chuck. More than friends."

Blair bit down on her lips. "Maybe… just a little."

Serena sighed. "If I can pick it up, Nate can pick it up too. It's just a matter of time. You like Chuck, but you love Nate, right?"

Blair put her head in her hands. "I don't even know what I want anymore…"

Serena grasped Blair's hand. "Blair, you listen to me."

Blair looked up.

"You love Nate. There's no debate about it. You are just… confused. All teenagers are confused, at some point of another. Chuck is bad news. You can't seriously thought of being with him?"

"Maybe he just needs someone to- "

"Change him?" Serena sighed again. "Blair, do you really believe that tale? Do you really think Chuck Bass _can _be changed? Blair, all the girls out who fawn over the infamous Chuck Bass may believe that tale, but you can't possible be one of them."

Blair looked down on her laps.

"We, out of everyone else, should be smarter. We know him longer than everyone else. Chuck is the way he is. You can't change him, no one can."

Serena grasped her distressed best friend's hands tighter.

"Forget that kiss with Chuck. He's not good for you."

Blair lifted her head, and found herself looking into Serena's eyes. She gave a half-heartedly nod.

"Promise me, Blair."

Blair nodded, but in all honesty, she wasn't so sure she could keep the promise.

* * *

Chuck swirled the amber-colored alcohol in his glass as he sat at the bar at the Palace Hotel.

"One whiskey, please," a raspy voice said beside him.

The bartender who was polishing some empty glasses before nodded and went off to make the drink.

A big brown envelope slid across the bar table. Chuck took it and opened it, examining the documents.

"They are trying to sell it," his private investigator told him. "Trying to cut the losses to the minimum. But who will buy a company that is already in debt?" He chuckled to himself. "If nothing else works, he will file for bankrupt. That's why he was trying to get the divorce done as soon as possible. At least his wife won't drag into this."

Chuck shuffled through the papers and scan through. Satisfied with what he saw, Chuck slid a check across the table.

He took the check, saw the amount he was getting paid and clicked his tongue. "Thank you. Call me any time if you need help."

Chuck slid the papers back into the envelope, down the rest of the scotch and stood up. "You're already on my speed dial."

* * *

Chuck wasted no time. He went to Amber right away. It was not hard to find her, given her address was one of the many information given on the papers in the envelope. As many others, Amber lived on the Upper East Side.

Chuck stepped into the penthouse, taking the apartment in one glance. Flowers were everywhere in the apartment. Vases were put up in every corner of the house, and the flowers in each and every one of them differed from the others. The first flower that Chuck saw was a lily and as he walked into the living room, he saw peonies.

"Blair's favorite," Chuck thought to himself.

He was admiring the flowers when he heard the clicking of heels against the marble floor.

"What are _you _doing here?" An unfriendly and hostile voice came from behind him.

When he turned around, he came to face to face with Amber Carmichael.

"Hello to you too," Chuck said.

"What are _you _doing here?" Amber narrowed her eyes at Chuck, and crossed her arms across her chest.

"I have a proposition for you."

* * *

**Hopefully I can get the last chapter up soon. Till then! **


	20. The Era Of Blair Waldorf

**A/N: Last chapter. Had been working my ass off for the past week on this. Excited yet? Haha. Enjoy. :)**

**Chapter 20**

* * *

"A proposition?' Amber snorted.

Amber was not stupid. She knew who Chuck was, who Chuck was to Blair, or who Blair was to Chuck, and the 'proposition' could not possibly be any good.

"I know you are the one who sent Gossip Girl that blast," Chuck continued.

To Chuck's surprise, Amber laughed.

"So what? Do you think I'm afraid of letting people know that it was me? I don't. In fact, I will be glad if everyone knows. Let them know that I'm still the same bitch I was before _that girl _came in."

If he was being completely honest, then Chuck would say that the loop-sided smirk on Amber's face had caught him off guard. He didn't expect Amber to be so arrogant, and he didn't expect Amber to be so nonchalant when he told her that he knew. He didn't know what he actually expected Amber to do, but he certainly did not expect this. But, like a true expert of hiding his emotions, Chuck showed no expression. He let Amber carried on.

"If you are here to save your little friend's bony ass, then save it. I will stop at nothing to destroy her."

"Believe me, you will want to hear me out," Chuck said.

Amber sneered. "Unless you are suggesting a transfer of school for Blair, I really doubt it."

"Actually, _you _will be the one transferring."

"Me?" Amber snorted. "You must be kidding. Why would _I _want to leave when I'm having the upper hand in this game now? Since we are being completely honest here, I shall let you in on a little secret."

Amber leaned in closer to Chuck and whispered, "I have something on Blair. Something other than her bulimia."

She then leaned back with a sly smile on her face to watch Chuck's reaction. It was a little show to her, watching Chuck's eyebrows went up, and something that looked a lot like panic flickered in his eyes for a brief moment. Chuck Bass, though a freshman, had a little reputation in St. Jude's, as well as Constance. Some said he was the next Carter Baizen, who was the 'bad boy' of St. Jude's. He was the guy whom all girls should steer clear of and the guy whom all guys loved to hear stories of. Amber might have a fling with Carter before, once or twice, but it was all for fun. It was never serious. And it was because she had spent time with Carter, she knew guys like Chuck. Chuck would not have come to her if he did not care about Blair. That information gave Amber a kind of thrill. Amber wanted to know what Chuck would do to know what she knew, to get her not to tell the entire Upper East Side.

"Want to know what it is?" Amber asked. "I will make you a deal. Let's exchange secrets. If you tell me a secret that's good enough, I will tell you what I knew. 'Believe me, you will want to know'," Amber quoted Chuck.

Amber did not know what she was expecting Chuck to say. Perhaps she wanted to know if Chuck would confess his everlasting love for Blair Waldorf just to know what Amber knew. They always said that curiosity killed the cat. Amber wanted to see if this cat would fall for the same trap. She then turned away from Chuck, and took a sit on the couch. She crossed her leg over the other, and looked at Chuck, as if she was an audience and Chuck was the show. In a way, that was the case. Chuck merely looked back at Amber, as if contemplating his choices.

"I do have something that you would want to know," Chuck finally spoke.

"Oh?" It was Amber's turn to raise her eyebrows.

"I know that your parents are getting a divorce..." Chuck noticed Amber tensed at his words, but he continued. "And I know why."

Amber gave a mocking laugh. "Who are you, and why would you know what happened between my parents?"

She then looked away and added softly, probably thinking that Chuck couldn't hear her. "Even I don't know."

Chuck ignored her and continued, "Your father's business is not doing well. In fact, there may be a need to file for bankruptcy."

Amber turned sharply to Chuck again with her jaw dropped as the shocking news shook through her.

"How... How did you know?" She asked.

"That's not the question here, is it? Your father wanted a divorce with your mother because he wanted to leave your mother and you out of it. He wanted to bare it all alone," Chuck explained. "I believe he still loves your mother."

Amber lowered her head, and soon after, Chuck noticed Amber's shoulders were shaking. It then occurred to him: She was crying. Not knowing what to do, Chuck shifted his weight from his left foot to his right uncomfortably. Chuck was used to girls crying in front of him, normally _because _of him, and he was indifferent about it on normal days. But today, he was uncomfortable to see Amber cries. Maybe it was because somehow, seeing the way Amber cried somehow reminded him of Blair. Maybe it was because they both love their family so much, maybe it was because they both have an air of superiority when speaking to their minions, or maybe it was because even though they both looked so tough and brave when walking down the hallways in Constance, they were still little girls at heart. Amber and Blair were alike in a lot of ways. And yes, Blair did cry before him before, even though she was a stubborn pain in the ass who always tried her hardest to put up a brave front. Sometimes it was when they were watching a really romantic old movie. The other times were when she thought he wasn't watching. But Chuck always let her be because he understood that Blair would not want Chuck to know she was crying, nor did she wanted Chuck's 'sympathy'. Chuck might not know how to comfort a person, but he definitely _knew _people. He definitely knew that Amber was as headstrong as Blair, and if Blair did not want to Chuck to know she was crying, neither would Amber. Especially when Chuck was on Blair's side. So Chuck decided to pretend he did not notice Amber was crying.

Chuck turned his back to Amber, giving her some privacy, and began to pretend that he was examining the peonies.

When Amber's sobs subsided, she wiped her cheeks with her hands, slightly embarrassed to be crying in front of a virtual stranger. When she lifted her head and found that Chuck was not staring at her like she was some freak, she was feeling little grateful.

"I followed Harold Waldorf the other day," Amber confessed, her voice a little shaky after all the crying she did just now.

"What?" Chuck whipped his head around.

"Turns out Daddy Waldorf is hiding a secret of his own too," Amber shrugged.

"No matter what you do, leave Harold out of it!" He knew that he was shouting at this point of time, but he couldn't help it. Blair loved Harold. If Harold was dragged into this... Chuck could not imagine how Blair would feel.

Shocked that the mostly expressionless Chuck Bass would shout at her, Amber's eyes widened.

Chuck took a few heavy breaths before speaking again, "Just leave him out of it."

Amber let out a bitter laugh.

"Why should I? Blair didn't hesitate when she COMPLETELY DESTROYS MY LIFE."

Amber let out a hollow laughter.

"You know what I found?" Amber raised an eyebrow. "Harold Waldorf, husband of Eleanor Waldorf, dearest father of Blair Waldorf, is g_ay_."

She let the moment sank into Chuck for a while as she watched Chuck's eyes widened at the new shocking piece of information. She found some kind of sick pleasure in Chuck's expression. She wondered again what Chuck would do to make sure that the secret remained a secret for Blair's sake.

"How's that for a secret huh? And I thought _my_ family is twisted. But wow, just look at the Waldorfs. A bulimic daughter _and _a gay father? I'm just _dying _to know how the rest of the Upper East Side will look at them now."

Amber gave a smirk towards Chuck before turning her back to Chuck, wanting to go into her room. As far as she was concerned, the conversation was over.

"Wait," Chuck stopped her. "It doesn't have to be this way."

"No, it doesn't," Amber agreed. "But Blair Waldorf makes it this way."

She continued to proceed on to her room, but Chuck, desperate to stop her, to talk to her so that they would reach an agreement, spoke again.

"Remember the proposition I was talking about just now?"

Amber didn't stop to hear what Chuck got to say this time, she continued walking.

"I can help your father!"

That stopped Amber, and Amber finally turned around to face Chuck.

"...How?" She asked in a whisper.

"My father, Bart Bass, can buy your father's company out, which is what your father had been trying to do for months. Using the money from the deal, your father can pay off the debt and perhaps, start new somewhere else," Chuck proposed.

He had talked to Bart earlier regarding this, and Bart was most surprised to hear that his useless son had a something business related to tell him. Chuck knew that Bart had been wanting an insurance company under the Bass industries for long, but hadn't act on it. John Carmichael was selling his company for a very low price, but because the company was in debt of some sorts, no one was willing to take it from his hand. Bart was hesitant to buy over the company too, but because it was the first time Chuck asked him for something, he actually considered it.

"I hope you realize that by buying this company over, I would have to suffer a loss," Chuck recalled Bart saying.

"Yes, but it's only temporary. The company has been doing well for many years, it just hit a low. It will definitely pick up again," Chuck said to Bart.

"There's no definite in this world, son," Bart said sternly.

Chuck felt his face fell and his breath hitched. He had been feeling somewhat proud of his idea. He thought it would be a win-win situation for all parties. He was so sure that Bart would approve, because when he read up the files on the company John Carmichael had, he truly believed that it would be profitable in the long run. He was hoping that Bart would agree with him too.

"But I will buy it anyway. What the hell, right?"

Chuck chuckled as a wave of relief washed through him. This would be the first time he heard Bart saying 'What the hell', probably the last time too, and he was somewhat amused.

"May I ask, why are you calling me and asking me to buy an insurance company out of the blue? I don't believe it was simply for the interest of the Bass industries."

Chuck hesitated. He was never on really close terms with his father, but today, he felt like Bart was giving him a chance to open up to him. For them to have a chat, like what fathers and sons did. For them to be somewhat closer. And he didn't know when the next chance would come by again. So he took it.

"It's for Blair," He confessed. He felt like it was a game of all or nothing. He knew that by opening up to Bart, he was exposing himself, and it gave Bart a chance to hurt him. But he was going all out.

"I see," Bart said.

Chuck thought he would say something about it, but he didn't.

"I have to go now, son. I will have the lawyers draw up a contract as soon as possible."

"Thank you, father."

Then Bart hung up.

"Will he really do that?"

Chuck nodded.

"Of course. The contract is being held up as we talk."

"And everything will be ok? My dad don't have to divorce my mum and we don't have to file for bankruptcy?"

Chuck nodded again.

Amber's eyes lit up and her face broke into a breathtaking smile.

"But, there's a condition."

Amber's smile faltered.

"I knew it wouldn't be that easy," Amber mumbled under her breath.

"Firstly, no one must know about this."

Amber nodded, thinking that that was easy to stand by.

"Secondly," Chuck started.

"That's _two _conditions," Amber mumbled again.

But Chuck ignored her and continued.

"All you have to do is to leave New York City. Leave New York City, and leave Blair your crown."

Amber stared at Chuck for a moment, before breaking out into laughter.

"This all boils down to Blair, doesn't it?" Amber asked. "Do you... Like her or something?"

Chuck felt a blush rising up his cheeks, but tried his best to fight it.

"No," he lied blatantly, but averted his eyes away from her anyway.

Amber snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," She said with a wave of her hand. "I couldn't care less. Does Blair know what you are doing for her?"

"It's none of your business," Chuck said with a hard look.

Amber shrugged. "Just thought you should let her know."

"She will be _so _touched," Amber mocked.

"One question. Are you up for it?" Chuck didn't want to play games with her. He was not in the mood.

Amber looked down at the ground for a while, and then darted her eyes to Chuck's.

She finally nodded. "Of course, anything to keep my family together," She told Chuck.

Chuck smirked. He was used to having things done his way, having plans worked out, but the victories never failed to put a smirk on his face.

Amber took a deep breath, and then breathed out, "I need some time."

"A week."

"A week?" Amber's eyes widened. "Too fast," She claimed, shaking her head, her fiery red mane shaking around her.

"You should understand why I can't let you stay in New York City anymore," Chuck said. "One week is the longest time I can give you. Contracts will be sent over soon. I will leave it to you to tell your father the good news?"

Amber nodded, somewhat reluctantly.

"Good."

* * *

Chuck stepped out of his limousine, and headed towards the grand doors of the Palace. He was feeling somewhat comforted by the fact that he had kept Blair safe from Amber, and was wearing a small smile on his face. Blair would be safe, and he would never have to hear the heart-breaking sobs, never to see her eyes filled with tears again, never seeing herself willing herself not to let the tears fall.

Blair Waldorf did not cry easily for three reasons. Firstly, Blair Waldorf was not weak. Secondly, Blair Waldorf never cried in front of strangers. Thirdly, because she was Blair Waldorf.

Sometimes, he really hated that about her. Other times, he loved that about her.

Chuck pushed the heavy doors open, and a voice immediately halted him.

"Chuck!"

Chuck turned to the source of the voice, and saw a golden beauty in front of him.

"Serena, I have to say, I'm not surprised," Chuck said as he walked towards his friend of many years.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Save it for your whores, Chuck. I'm here for a reason."

"They always have a reason," Chuck gave her a teasing look.

"I'm serious, Chuck," Serena shoved Chuck in the shoulder. "I need to talk to you."

Chuck raised an eyebrow, and then hooked a finger at Serena. "Follow me."

Chuck brought Serena to his suite, and once they were inside, he said, "Talk."

Serena folded her arms over her chest.

"I need you to stop torturing Blair."

"Torture?" Chuck asked questionably. "Is that what she said?"

"She isn't one of your whores, Chuck. She's our oldest friend, and Nate's girlfriend. You can't play these games with her. You will hurt her."

Serena had asked Blair to promise to forget the kiss she had with Chuck, but she had seen the look in Blair's eyes. Blair would not forget. She was falling deeper for Chuck, and she needed to stop it.

"Maybe I'm not playing games with her, Serena. Have you told about that? Maybe I-"

"What? Has feelings for her?"

There it was again. The question that Chuck still did not have the answer to.

Chuck wished he had the answer to it. He certainly had thought about the question every minute of every day, ever since Blair had asked him, yet it was like this really, really challenging math question that he could not solve. He certainly liked Blair with him. Every time Blair walked into the room, the whole room lit up. Blair understood him in a way no one else had. And it was so easy, not having to explain himself, or his thoughts to her. She finished his sentences. But was it "feelings"? He still had no idea.

"If you have no answer to that, then Chuck, _please, _leave her alone. She can't take it. She can't walk out of your games alive. It will _kill_ her."

Chuck might have blink at her, he had no idea. But he had heard the sincerity in Serena's voice, the genuine care and concern she had for Blair and perhaps, even begging. Serena was practically _begging _him to leave Blair.

Maybe she was right. He was not right with Blair. He never was. Nate was.

Maybe that was the answer to his question. He _could not _have feelings for Blair.

Slowly, he nodded.

"Thank you," Serena breathed out.

The relief in Serena's voice was so prominent that Chuck could not ignore it. The relief in Serena's voice seemed to be hinting him in the most obvious way possible that the decision he had just made was right. He truly hoped it was.

Because otherwise he would regret what he was going to do next for the rest of his life.

* * *

"Nate?"

Nate spun around.

"Amber?"

He was standing in the courtyard that St. Jude's and Constance shared, and was on his way to see Blair when Amber had called out to him.

"What are you doing here? Dressed like that?" Nate asked.

Amber was dressed in a casual leather black jacket, a cotton white tee shirt, jeans, and ankle boots. Balancing on her nose was a pair of sunglasses. She looked good, but not really dressed for school. Constance was a private school, and students were supposed to wear uniforms. While the school had always closed an eye to the alterations the students had made to their uniforms, what Amber was wearing was definitely not acceptable.

"I, err, I'm just stopping by to talk to you. I'm actually on my way to the airport," Amber said as she took the sunglasses off her face, showing Nate the beautiful emerald green eyes she had.

"Airport? Where are you going? What about school?"

"I'm transferring. I'm going to San Diego. My family is moving there. My father sold his company, and well, he is going to try to start a new one over there. It will be a good start," Amber gave a small smile towards Nate.

"But you have less than one year left," Nate said.

"It's ok. My spoiled reputation had probably gotten around in all the good colleges in New York. I will get a better chance getting into a good college in the west. I'm only telling you this because you are, as pathetic as this sounds, the only friend I have left," Amber managed a weak smile towards Nate.

"Amber… I can't say how sorry I am for what Blair did."

"Don't, Nate," Amber put up a hand to stop Nate. "She did what she did to get what she wants. To be honest, I kind of admire her for that. She did better than me when I was her age," Amber gave a weak laugh.

Nate returned a forced smile.

"Before I go though, I wanted to say goodbye. And well, give you some advice."

Nate looked at her questionably.

"I can see that you love her. My advice? Tell her."

Nate opened his mouth to speak, but Amber spoke first.

"Blair is beautiful, and when she's not scheming, she might even be kind of nice. Tell her before someone else did," Amber said, remembering the look Chuck had in his eyes when Amber had asked him if he liked Blair. Chuck definitely liked Blair.

"She deserves it, Nate," Amber said softly.

Blair was walking down the stairs to the courtyard. When she spotted the familiar blonde head, her lips curled into a smile. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but as she descended the stairs further, she noticed he was not alone.

Nate's back was to her, and from her angle, she could see Amber clearly. Amber was speaking to Nate, and Blair wondered what did she have to say to him.

"Nate," Blair greeted when she finally walked up to Nate and Amber.

Blair glared at Amber and wrapped her hands around Nate's arm possessively. The action did not go by unnoticed by Amber.

"Relax, Blair. I'm leaving already, I'm just saying goodbye to Nate," Amber almost wanted to laugh at Blair's possessiveness of Nate.

Blair raised an eyebrow at Amber. To be completely honest, Amber was winning in the game now, and logically speaking, Amber could not have chosen a worst time to leave. If she wanted to leave, she would have fled when Blair had released the sex tape of hers in the Ivy Mixer.

"Admitting defeat already, Amber?"

Amber smiled but shook her head softly.

"It was fun playing with you, but I'm done here. "

Amber never explained further.

Blair was still figuring why the sudden change in circumstances, when Amber turned to Nate.

"Well, my parents are waiting for me, so I must go now. Bye Nate. Remember what I said."

Amber gave a wave to Nate, and a polite smile towards Blair and head towards the taxi that was waiting by the street.

When she opened the car door, she paused for a moment, and then shouted out to Blair, across the entire courtyard.

"Blair!" Amber shouted. "I leave you my crown, guard it well! Give it to someone who truly deserves it, like you do. I trust you to do so."

Locking eyes with Amber, Blair nodded, a determined look on her face.

Trusting her to follow through her promise, Amber took one last look at her palace, and stepped into the taxi.

That was the last of the ever-glamorous Amber Carmichael on the Upper East Side.

_Hear ye, hear ye! Constance has a new queen, and unlike our previous one, Queen B is here to stay. Bow down to your new queen, Upper East Siders. You don't want to mess with her._

_

* * *

_

Instead of going home with Nate that day, Blair went to the Palace. She wanted to talk to Chuck. She knew she should be feeling as if she was on top of the world, now that she got her crown, but she was not. Sure, she was happy and triumph regarding her victory, but she can't help but felt that the victory did not belong to her alone. There was no way Amber would leave so suddenly. Something about this smelled fishy, and Blair was determined to find out what was it.

Blair knocked on the familiar door of the 1812 suite.

When the door opened, she was knocked over by the strong odor of alcohol and cheap perfume.

"Who are you?" The skimpily dressed blonde who answered the door asked Blair.

"That is the question I should be asking you, skank." Blair held a hand to her nose, trying to block out the odor. "Where is Chuck?"

The blonde seemed to take no offense in Blair calling her a skank. Instead, she merely opened the door wider, and went into the suite, leaving Blair at the door.

Walking in and closing the door behind her, Blair stepped over empty bottles of scotch and random pieces of clothes that were lying on the floor. When Blair finally entered the bedroom, she found Chuck lying in the middle of the bed, his eyes half opened, with a brunette lying on his right. The blonde climbed into the bed, and lied on Chuck's left. Blair could not help but sighed. Chuck was back to his old ways. While Blair had always known of Chuck's womanizing ways, and had always been indifferent about it, she now felt repulsed at the thought of the dirty hands that were on his body.

Blair shook Chuck's leg.

"Chuck!" Blair yelled. "Wake up!"

Chuck's eyes fluttered opened, and then lifted his head.

"Waldorf." A smirk hung on his lips. "Sorry, but I don't think there's room for you in the bed. You are welcome to the couch though."

Chuck dropped his head back to the pillow, and closed his eyes. He appeared to be falling back into sleep again.

"Chuck," Blair tried, giving his leg another violent shake.

"What?" Chuck's eyes snapped open in irritation.

Blair was unfazed by Chuck's irritated tone.

"I need to talk to you," Blair said.

Chuck let out a frustrated groan and squeezed his eyes shut.

Blair thought he would go back to sleep again, but surprisely, Chuck just sighed and sat up in his bed.

"Girls?" He shook the girls on both sides of him. When the girls woke up, Chuck said, "You need to leave."

Without a second word, the girls picked up their clothes that were lying on the floor, and left the room.

"What is it?" Chuck asked, his tone softer now.

"Did you make Amber leave New York?"

Chuck looked at Blair for a while, and then pushed himself off the bed. Ignoring Blair's question entirely, he walked towards the mini-bar in the suite.

"You did, didn't you?" Blair asked as she followed Chuck to the mini-bar, even though she knew the answer already. She had already seen it in his eyes.

"Why did you do that?"

It was a genuine question. She wanted to know. She _needed _to know. Because they might just be a chance that…

"I don't like seeing her in Constance. I've always hated redheads. Their flaming red hair burns my eyes," Chuck claimed, as he grabbed a bottle of scotch off a shelf.

"Since when?" Blair exclaimed, waving her hands in the air. "That's bullshit, Chuck, and you know that."

Chuck looked around the bar counter for empty glasses, when he found none, he simply raised the bottle to his mouth.

But before it reached his mouth, Blair snatched the bottle from him.

"I think that's enough drinking, Chuck. It smells like the basement of a winery in here already."

"Give me that."

Chuck attempted to snatch the bottle back from Blair, but was too slow.

"Do you _want _your liver to survive Chuck? Because if you do, I think you should listen to me." Blair kept the bottle of scotch out of Chuck's reach.

"Who the hell do you think you are? My _girlfriend?" _Chuck snapped.

Chuck gave Blair the ultimate.

Blair's jaws dropped, but she masked it as soon as possible.

"Chuck, what's wrong?" Blair asked softly.

"Nothing's wrong, Blair. This is me being me. What _is _wrong?" He asked in return.

Blair shook her head softly.

"No, this isn't you, Chuck. You weren't like this for the past few weeks."

Chuck sneered.

"Do you think you know me well?" He asked in mockery.

"I..I.. I thought we…" Blair stammered as she ran through the words in her vocabulary bank, trying to search for the right ones that would describe their relationship.

"We what, Blair? We are nothing, Blair. You are Nathaniel's girlfriend, not mine. You are in no position to decide what _I _should or should not do. "

Every word of Chuck's words hurt. They _hurt. _It was like stabbing a knife to her heart and she could feel the tears welling in her eyes, blurring her vision.

"Why are you doing this, Chuck?" Blair asked, as a sob escaped her. "We were so good before. I mean, I thought we were… " She swallowed hard. "Starting something."

Chuck gave Blair a wry smile. "No, Blair. We are nothing."

Finally allowing her tears to fall, Blair allowed herself to cry. She didn't care if she was crying openly in front of Chuck, something she had never done before. She was hurting too much to care.

"Ok then," Blair said in a soft whisper.

She placed the bottle of scotch that she was still stupidly holding in her hands down on the bar counter, and forced herself to look into Chuck's eyes. She knew she was being a masochist by doing so, but she needed to do it. She needed to see it in Chuck's eyes that she was nothing to him, that it was all her wishful thinking. Serena was right. She was an idiot for believing that, maybe, just maybe, Chuck _could _be changed. She was stupid to fall into the same trap thousands of other girls had. She was dumb to break the promise she had with Serena, and to remember the kiss that she had once thought was so special.

"I will be going now," She told him, and left the room in humiliation, embarrassment, and most importantly, in pain.

* * *

Tears were freely flowing down her cheeks as she walked down the streets. A small voice in her head told her to get off the street, in case a photo of her looking like a wreck turned up on Gossip Girl, leading to many unwanted questions and rumors. But she continued walking anyway. At this point of time, she did not care. Why should she anyway? She had just been humiliated by Chuck, and was treated like one of another sluts that were always around Chuck. She guessed that answered her question anyway. The question that she always could not fathom. She had never understand why girls would want to throw themselves at Chuck, even though they knew Chuck would never ever treat them different from the others. She always thought they deserved it. They knew the consequences, but they went with it anyway. Was that not what had just happened to her? Whenever girls walked away from Chuck crying and weeping, she had always thought that they had nothing to cry over. They knew it would happen. They knew Chuck would dump them like a hot potato once another came along. Why did they still cry when they knew what was about to come?

_Because it still fucking hurts like hell. _

A sob escaped out of her lips, and she pressed her hand to her mouth. Blair took a few deep breaths, and wiped at her cheeks, before she continued walking. Soon, her building came into sight and keeping her head down, she walked into the building.

She just wanted to get into bed, and avoid eye contacts with anyone.

The elevator came within a minute and she entered. She pressed the button leading to the penthouse. While the elevator rose through the building, Blair tried her best to collect herself. Her sobbing had eased and she was most grateful for that. She pulled her coat closer to her, and pat down the creases of her dress. Once the elevator rang and the door opened, she stepped out and headed for her room.

"Good afternoon, Miss Blair," Dorota greeted.

Blair did not answer. Instead, she kept her head down and tried to walk as fast as possible to her room.

"Do you want me to take your coat, Miss Blair?" Dorota asked.

Blair shook her head as she climbed the stairs leading to the room.

"How about something to eat? You hungry, Miss Blair?" She asked again.

Ignoring her again, Blair opened the door to her room, walked in and closed it behind her, nearly slamming the door in Dorota's face.

She gave a shaky sigh as she leaned against the door. She could not remember the last time she cried so hard. It was tiring, to say the least.

Deciding that she needed to splash some water at her face, she walked to the bathroom.

Staring at herself in the mirror, Blair wondered how did she end up like this. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose was red like a Rudolph, and she basically just looked pathetic. A fresh wave of sorrow overwhelmed her and before she knew it, she began crying again.

She was still crying when she heard the rang of the elevator, announcing a guest.

"Hi Dorota," Blair could hear the goofiness in Nate's voice. "Is Blair in her room? I want to see her."

Panicking, Blair began to move towards the door, trying to pick up the conversation taking place just downstairs.

"Mr Nate, I don't think it's good. Miss Blair don't want visitors."

"Dorota must have picked up my mood earlier on," Blair thought.

Not a surprise since Dorota had practically raised her up.

"But it's me. It's different. I will just go up ok?"

"Mr Nate!"

Blair heard the footsteps nearing, and knew Nate must have got past Dorota. Not wanting Nate to see her in this state, Blair locked the door.

"Blair?" Nate knocked on her door.

Blair did not answer.

"Blair, I know you are in there. Can we talk? I have something to tell you."

Nate actually sounded… _anxious. _And maybe even… nervous?

"I'm really tired. Can we talk another time?" Blair said from her side of the door.

"Please, it will just take a minute."

Blair sighed. She just wanted to sleep the horrible day off. Deciding that the best way for Nate to go away so she could just go to bed was probably to hear him out, she opened the door, left it open and walked to the window, turning her back to Nate.

"Blair, I… I just want to let you know that I…" Nate stammered nervously. He then took a deep breath as he gathered all his courage and tried again. "I love you."

Shocked, Blair spun around, no longer caring what she looked like.

"Wh…What?"

Nate did not seem to notice though. Taking a few steps forward, hence closing the gap between the two of them, Nate stood in front of Blair. He took Blair's hands into his, and stared at them for a while.

Just when Blair thought she might have heard him wrongly, Nate looked up from their jointed hands and looked into Blair's dark brown ones. He tightened his grip on Blair's hands as he said them again.

"I love you."

This time, it was crystal clear.

It was all Blair had wanted all along.

After the emotion roller coaster Blair had been on today, the three words touched Blair's heart in a way that Blair never felt possible. It was what she needed to push the thoughts of Chuck Bass away.

"I love you too." Blair replied softly.

Nate let out the breath that he didn't know he had been holding and leaned in, kissing the lips that he loved so much.

_This is where I belong, _Blair thought as she leaned back, breaking from the kiss, and looked into Nate's eyes again.

They shared a small and blissful smile.

"I love you, Nate Archibald." Blair raised a hand to caress Nate's cheek. "Always have, always will."

She would never let herself fall into the same trap again. Nate was the one for her, she needed to always remember that.

Nate's smile turned into a grin as he extent his arms and wrapped them around Blair.

* * *

_The next day_

_Good morning Upper East Siders. Have you notice something? Girls around the Upper East Side had been sporting headbands and guys had deleted photos of a certain redhead, and had switched to using pictures Blair Waldorf as their wallpaper. That's right people. It's the start of a new era, and things are about to get interesting. _

Blair was walking to school with Serena, their hands looped together as they chatted merrily.

"I told you he will say the L word soon! I knew it!" Serena exclaimed.

"You look happier than I do, S," Blair said with a roll of her eyes.

"Impossible," Serena said. "You know, you have a happy glow around you right now."

Blair raised an eyebrow.

"Like an angel?"

Serena laughed. "No, like a queen."

Blair grinned widely at her words.

They were nearing Constance by now and soon, the minions were in sight.

All were sporting headbands, including Penny and Eunice much to Blair's delight.

"Blair, here's your coffee," Michelle said, handing a cup of Starbucks to Blair. "And here's yours, Serena."

Michelle always got Starbucks for both Blair and Serena. It was what she did for Amber, and now, she did the same for Blair.

"Thank you," Blair said as she took the Starbucks from Michelle.

Blair said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world, but everyone was surprised. Shocked ,even.

Blair never said thank you to her minions.

After getting over the initial shock, Michelle smiled at Blair and replied, "You… You're welcome."

"But, from tomorrow onwards, you don't need to do so anymore. Eunice?" Blair motioned Eunice over. "You will do it. Michelle, make sure she knows what to do."

Michelle nodded enthusiastically.

It was a promotion for Michelle, and a demotion for Eunice and everyone knew it. No one said anything though. Blair was the queen, and her words were orders.

Beside Penny, Eunice's face fell.

Blair led the group with Serena by her side towards the doors of Constance. Everyone stared at their new queen.

When Blair reached the doors of Constance, she saw the one person who would make her day even better than it already was.

There leaning against the wall, was Nate Archibald.

Fastening her pace, Blair walked towards Nate until she stood in front of him. The group of girls, including Serena, lingered behind.

"Nate," Blair breathed out.

"Blair," Nate greeted as he pushed himself off the wall.

_No Serena. Blair. It was Blair. _

"New era huh?"

Blair laughed.

"You read Gossip Girl?"

Nate nodded.

"I've subscribed. Everyone seems to be reading it now. I can't miss it."

Blair only smiled.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a limousine pulled over. A dark-colored hair boy stepped out.

_Chuck. _

"Blair?" Nate's voice caught her attention, and she realized she had been distracted.

"Hmm?" Blair forced herself to look into Nate's eyes.

"I love you," Nate said with a goofy smile on his face.

Blair knew Chuck was watching them. She could _feel _his eyes on her.

"I love you too," Blair said as she pressed her forehead to Nate's. "Always have, always will."

_When the queen gets her king, do they live happily ever after? Or is it just a start of something else? _

_You know you love me,_

_XOXO_

_Gossip Girl_

* * *

**CB fans, I'm really really sorry that this is not the ending that you want. I know how much it sucks when you read the story till the end, yet the ending was the exact opposite of what you want. But this has been the ending that I had in mind ever since I started writing the story. I wanted this story to follow the one on TV. It was not meant to be an AU story. So yeah, Blair ends up with Nate. However, to compensate you guys, I have decided to write an epilogue that will be on Chuck and Blair, and _only _Chuck and Blair. So look out for it. Probably will have it written by next weekend, latest. ;) **

**I _have _thought of writing an alternate ending that would have Chuck and Blair together in the end, but well, that would take time, and what I don't have a lot right now, is time. So I'm not going to do it unless I receive enough request for it. Sorry. **

**Anyway, do drop me a review seeing this is the last chapter ok? Thank you in advance! :)**

**To: xX-TheBestDamnThing-Xx**

I'm not really sure if this is the 'epic Amber takedown' you have in mind, but I hope it will do. I have always wanted to make Chuck the one who helped Blair to her throne, hence Amber leaving New York City do not really have anything to do with Blair. Hope it's good enough!

Thank you for the review. :)

xoxo

Janice

To: romancelover

Thank you for saying I'm a good writer! It always make me really happy when someone says that. :)

Well, that's actually why I wrote this story. I started thinking about how the story starts, and soon, I started typing.

Hope this is worth the wait!

xoxo

Janice


	21. Epilogue

**A/N: Firstly, if you receive an update about The Era Of Blair Waldorf, Chapter 19, that's because I found some mistakes in that chapter, edited it and replace the chapter. This is the real stuff. **

** I was glad that I could finally do some Chair work! Haha. So this epilogue, as promised, is all Chair. Fluffy Chair. They are really sweet in here, and it's set maybe two weeks after Chuck said his 'I love you' to Blair, and they are in their honeymoon phrase.  Do look out for all the preferences to the previous chapters. Hope you guys still remember them. **

**It's Valentine's day and I'm feeling extra affectionate. So there are lots of kisses, etc. No sex though(hope you're not too disappointed. lol.) **

**Btw, Happy Valentine's Day! Have a great one! :) **

Epilogue

* * *

Blair let out a blissful sigh as she leaned back further into his chest. Behind her, Blair could feel the small smile on the lips that were pressed against the nape of her neck. The arms around her waist tightened as a leg crossed over and tangled with hers.

Before they were together, neither could imagine that one day, they would lie together in bed, _not _having sex, but just enjoying the presence and the warmth of each other. But now that they were, it was one of the best things that they enjoyed most. Except bringing each other great and amazing orgasms, of course.

"What are you thinking?" He asked.

His voice was both velvet and soft, and Blair loved it. Most importantly, Blair knew she was the only one he would use this voice with. He would not use it on others. It was _her _voice.

"You," Blair replied casually. "Me. Us."

He chuckled, sending rumbles down her skin.

"Do you remember our first kiss?" She asked suddenly. "You better, Bass."

Chuck pressed his lips against Blair's cheek.

"Of course I do, Blair."

"I'm not talking about the one in the limo, I'm talking about -"

"The one we had in our freshman year," Chuck finished Blair's thoughts. "I remember, Blair."

Blair grinned, and turned her head towards Chuck, giving him a long and lingering kiss.

"I thought you forgot," She said softly as she looked into Chuck's eyes.

"How could I forget? It's our first kiss." He pecked her lips again. "And one of our best."

"I may have to disagree with you on that. We have too many good kisses," Blair said jokingly.

"No, it was definitely one of the best," Chuck said. "Because then... I thought it was our first, and our last. So I make sure it was the best kiss I had ever gave."

Blair could not help but reached out to caress his cheek; He was just too sweet now.

"Well, you did leave me hanging for more. I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss after. Every time I look at you, all I could see is your lips. It's so crazy," Blair said, shaking her head slightly.

"It didn't seem that way then," Chuck said, and Blair could see the smallest hint of a pout of his lips.

She laughed and turned, so that they were facing each other now.

"Believe me, Chuck Bass. You are too sexy for your own good," Blair said, coaxing a smile from his lips.

Chuck nuzzled his nose with hers, as silence filled the air.

For a moment, they just lied there, letting the thoughts filled their heads.

"Have you…" Chuck started.

"Hmm?" Blair prompted.

Chuck seemed to be thinking about his question for another second while Blair watched his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

"Have you ever… thought about what could happen if… we are together then? When we are thirteen? If I didn't push you away then?"

Blair frowned as she leaned back from Chuck's embrace.

"Why the sudden question?"

"It's just that… sometimes I wonder if things will be different. Maybe we have wasted all these years apart. Maybe I'm not supposed to push you away then."

Blair smiled as she considered his question.

"I believe that if two people are meant to be together," She placed a hand on his chest. "They will eventually find their ways back together. No matter how many times you push me away, I will find my way to you. And right now, we are here together. That is all that matters. You are not getting rid of me that easily, Chuck."

"I hope not," Chuck said, before bringing a hand under her chin to lift it up so that he could kiss her.

"I rather enjoy being with you," He said when they came up for air.

Blair gave a gentle laugh.

"I love you, Chuck Bass."

"I love you, too, Waldorf," He said, melting her heart in all the right places.

Chuck laced his fingers through hers.

"It's late, Blair. You should sleep."

Blair took a look at the clock that was standing on the nightstand, gave a resigned sigh and nodded.

"Night, Bass."

"Night, Waldorf."

Just before she fell asleep, she swore she heard him said "Sweet dreams, Blair."

But this time, she was sure she heard him correctly.

* * *

**A/N: I am really glad that I did this story, because I really feel that it helped me improve my writing (my first chapter is horrible, urgh.), and I am more than happy to get all my thoughts out of the system. I hope you guys enjoy this story as much as I did. :)**

**Well, I don't see myself doing any multi-chapters stories in the near future, but I do have ideas for a couple of one-shots. Just got to get them out first. Till then! **

**Oh, and any reviews for the last chapter? At least say your goodbyes. ;)**


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